Day of the Dead
by MikaCienfuegos
Summary: It's the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos), a day when our loved ones who have passed away come back to visit us. But when Raven's girlfriend is an undead vampire, this day just gets a whole different meaning. Part 7 of the Creatures of the Night Saga. F/F
1. Chapter 1: Monster Party

Well I'm back with more vampire stories! I know it's been a while, but I've still got so much backstory on my vampire OC's that I decided this was a good way to introduce you to their origins.

I honestly thought this was a quick short story, but I guess the characters had a different idea.

I hope you enjoy, please leave your reviews!

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**Chapter 1: A Monster Party**

**October 31, 1:45 am**

Blood. It always smelled like blood.

Sure, there was the casual smell of beer and vodka, mixed with sweat and pheromones from the human guests. But with so many vampires gathered at one place, the stench of blood was deeply impregnated in the vip lounge at the casino. Raven figured she had to get used to it, being the girlfriend of the vampire prince and all, as this social reunions of the undead were becoming more and more common.

_And we are such the social butterfly…_ \- her sarcastic side quipped in.

Raven sighed. She would rather be home watching old horror films with her vampire while devouring a year's worth of candy. She just wished for one night to actually forget about the world. Ever since her public coming out, it just seemed these social things were never ending. Fortunately, misery loves company…

"Sooo… having fun?" asked the demoness to her sour looking friend.

"As security for Mika's Halloween Monster Mash-Up?" asked Dick Grayson rhetorically. Just as Raven (and the rest of the staff at the party), he was dressed in tux and a Phantom of the Opera Mask. "I don't know why I let her convince us? We are superheroes, not muscle for hire…"

"She is providing us money, is the least we can do." reminded the empath for the umpteen time. Considering the reason the Titans were out of funds from the Justice League was precisely Raven's public coming out, she felt the need to keep the peace between their leader and the vampires.

"You are her girlfriend. Shouldn't you be hanging from her arm instead of doing this?"

"Am not a trophy, asshole." whined the empath as she gently punched his arm with her fist. He pretended to be hurt by the action, although they were obviously playing. "And we are been very careful while on public. Ever since my interview, the media has just tried to pin me with every known lesbian… Besides, she seemed worried something might come up with so many vampires together."

"I thought they got along fine in their reunions… didn't she say violence and hunting were prohibited at… what did she called this… Elysium?"

Before she could answer, Mika's twin sister approached them wearing a provocative Catwoman disguise.

"Hey guys… having fun?" asked Caroline in her sultry voice.

"We are stuck as security for your private Halloween party… yes, we are having a blast."

"Easy with the attitude… we are your sponsors remember." answered the vampire reminding him of their hold on them, something he did not appreciate. "Least you can do for us is this tiny favor without complaining like a little bitch."

"He's just moody because he would rather be with Star…" tried to justify Raven before playfully adding "She got a bunny suit to go trick or treating tomorrow…"

"She did not." quickly interjected Grayson as he clarified. "It's a Wonder Woman costume."

"Well, won't you rather play with a kitty cat?" proposed Caroline as she teased him. Raven rolled her eyes at the interaction. It was as if getting on Nightwing's nerves was a sort of competition between the sisters. She could imagine a scoreboard on their shared apartment with different points according to category: teasing, tormenting and pranking.

"I'm not into villains…"

Caroline grinned devilishly, but before she could make a comeback, the sound of breaking glass and curses interrupted their banter.

"Oh fuck…" murmured the vampire before turning to the 2 Titans present and stepping aside for them to pass: "Well, time to earn your paycheck guys."

Nightwing groaned and Raven sighed as they approached the brawling vampires to defuse the situation.

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The two Titans easily diffused the situation. With minimal exertion, they subdued the aggressor and dragged him to Mika's private office in the back, where she was waiting by the fireplace. It always made the empath uncomfortable to see her like that. Mika took her role as the Vampire Prince rather seriously and she always exuded a mix of wickedness and superiority that sent goosebumps down her spine. She knew it was an act to keep the neonates in check, but sometimes she feared there might be a bit of truth behind it.

"This is the one that started it… He bit one of your mortal guests, and the others got roused by the blood." explained Dick as he threw the offender by the Prince's feet.

"Thank you for bringing him over… that'll be it." replied Mika in a monotone voice.

"No please, don't leave! The prince will dust me in the fireplace as soon as no one is looking!" exclaimed the neonate in panic as the Titans were turning to leave.

"I don't know why you would say that Darien…" answered Mika coldly. "Am I not taking care of you all? Protecting you from the inquisitors in my very home? And what do you do to repay me? Insult me and insult the sanctity of Elyseum."

"I was not trying to vex you. I am simply hungry." justified the neonate.

"I saw lots of blood bottles in the bar. Is not like the Prince is starving you." replied Raven harshly, feeling a bit insulted by the insinuations about her girlfriend.

"The doctor's fake blood is unsavory. I need the real stuff!" whined the vampire as he rose from the ground in indignation.

"Aren't you the little junkie Darien? You know hunting is… frowned upon on this domain…"

"You are a hypocrite! Your sister hunts because she cannot get sustenance from Doc's mix."

"My sister is over 100 years old; she knows what to do to not commit any… accidents. You on the other hand are a child who still drinks from a training cup. You should just make peace with your baby formula." spitted Mika as she grabbed him from the collar of his shirt.

Raven tensed as did Richard. They both knew very few things could get Mika as worked up as any bad mention of her sister. She slightly turned to look at them though, and released the neonate as she subtly growled, showing him her fangs. She then took seat on her high chair again, on what looked like an excellent godfather interpretation and continued to address him in the same monotone voice she used when they entered.

"You are not being held here against your will, you may take your chances outside if you like…" a subtle hint of threat impregnated her voice. She made pause to accentuate her meaning, before bestowing him with one of her characteristic lopsided grins as she continued: "If you get yourself killed I'll just make an example out of you."

Darien rearranged his clothes nervously and turned to look at the door. He began walking towards it without losing sight of the Prince; maybe thinking that he would get pounced as soon as he turned around. Once he reached the door he finally bolted.

"Would you like to explain to us what the hell was that?" demanded Nightwing as soon as the neonate was out of hearing distance.

"Let's just say tensions are running high…"

Mika feigned indifference and pretended to go back to work on her desk. Nightwing crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at her until she finally flinched.

"Ok fine, if you must know we are being hunted. The young ones have been disappearing. Last we heard from one of them was a distress call saying he was being chased; after that, the call got cut short. So I've been keeping them here for protection. They usually like it, but it's not easy for predators to be cooped up together for so long… So everyone is a bit on edge. It's Halloween though; I still wanted to give everyone a good time to take their minds of the current events…" explained the vampire Prince without making pause, hoping that would suffice.

"Why didn't you tell us that?" immediately asked Raven worried. "If you are being hunted we could have offered more protection. You don't have to go all Prince of Darkness on us and pretend you have it all under control."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to get you worried." Mika looked uncomfortable and a bit sheepish under her girlfriend's stare. "There always have been, and will always be vampire hunters. And you cannot really do anything about it because they are human, not super villains, just ordinary, scared humans. I did not mean to worry you; this is unfortunately something I have to handle on my own."

"You never mentioned vampire hunters before." Raven continued to press on.

"Because for many years I was the only vampire in Jump City, and I don't hunt. So there was no way vampire hunters could have picked up my trace."

"Ok, let me get this straight. You've been feeding them Katherine's synthetic blood, but some of them still prefer to hunt, drawing the attention of vampire hunters." clarified the Titan's leader.

"Before you pin this on me, let me say that I cannot force them, only try and reason with them…. and set the example." Mika quickly defended herself before this escalated into a heated discussion. "All these vampires were released into Jump City by you, from when we cured them from the zompire virus. They are technically not my responsibility. Their sins are not mine to bear."

"Fine. I actually cannot argue with that. You are, after all, trying your best to keep them safe and out of trouble…" conceded the masked vigilante, but before Mika could feel relieved he continued: "Still your sister hunts…"

"Yes, she does…" admitted the vampire. "Unfortunately, she cannot stomach the synthetic. She has special dietary needs. Katherine is trying to fix that… in the meantime she is very careful, she would never ever hurt anyone, and would certainly be clever enough to avoid the hunter's detection."

"You really expect us to believe she's never harmed anyone before?"

Before Mika could energetically object to his insinuations, Caroline walked into the room as she confessed: "I have."

"Caro!"

The twin placed her hand up to stop Mika from making excuses for her. "I have hurt someone before, well actually hurt is a very mild word to what I did, I've killed someone before…"

Everyone in the room remained silent after that. Caroline's face was a mixture of shame, sorrow and pain. Mika looked worried as she turned to look at the Titans present. Raven looked at her with sympathy, for this was the same face Mika had when she had confessed to her previous slips in her unlife. And Nightwing… he remained stoic.

"Only one though… this is him." continued the vampire as she handed them a hand paint portrait.

Raven took the picture. He was a kind looking man in his early 40's; handsome, with fair skin and hair. "Caroline, why do you have a picture of the only man you've ever killed?"

"That's because that is our father…" explained Mika. "And she didn't kill him. She was confused and just found him dead."

"You were not there…" protested her twin.

"And you don't actually remember killing him. You had just woken as the undead. He might as well have been dead before you fed on him. It was 1910, it was the fucking Mexican revolution, and he was a wealthy man, anyone could have killed him!" replied Mika as she stood before her sister in apparent outrage.

For the first time, Nightwing mentioned nothing that could make the moment more uncomfortable. He did not berate them with moral standards or questioned further. He chose to remain silent at the light of this new information.

"Still… he was there because of me." finalized Caroline as he took the picture back.

The vampire prince looked uncomfortable in her own skin, but she still asked: "Why are holding on to his picture anyway?"

"I was thinking we might make an altar for the 2nd of November."

"An altar?" finally asked Nightwing.

"It's Dia de Muertos… the Day of the Dead. It's a Mexican tradition." explained meekly the usually extroverted twin.

"Don't you think it would be a bit ironic that the dead make an altar for the dead?" complained Mika, still unhappy about her sister's sudden honesty. But before she could tell everything on her mind about it, Raven's confused tone broke her from her rant.

"Ok, hold on… I thought you two were Italian…"

"Our father was Italian…" corrected Caroline. "He was born in Italy but raised on Mexico, where he met our mother. We were born in Veracruz."

"You two are Mexican?... Ok, how did you guys even got here?" Raven tried to connect everything she was told with what she already knew about them.

"That's a very long story…"

Before anyone could reply anything else, both Dick's and Raven's communicators began beeping. There was trouble.

"As interesting as your family drama is, we have to go…" announced Nightwing.

"I understand, thank you for helping us with this." appreciated Mika.

Raven began following her leader at a quick pace as she hurriedly called to her girlfriend. "If you are being hunted don't go anywhere alone…"

"I'll be fine…"

"Once am done with this crisis we'll have a chat." added the demoness as she disappeared through the back door.

"She's not happy that you are still keeping things from her." said Caroline more as a statement than as a question.

"No, she's not."

"Why didn't you tell her about this? You knew she was going to eventually find out and get mad."

"It's better if she thinks this is what I'm hiding."

With that, the vampires returned to the party.

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**October 31, 2:28 am**

"You didn't know she was Mexican?"

"We don't center our relationship on our pasts." replied Raven as she levitated by his side. Her leader was on the Nightcycle as they raced across town to stop the latest menace. "What?"

"I know you're still feeling guilty about… last year's incident…" Raven groaned; she hated to be reminded about her indiscretion with Eris that almost brought hell to Earth. "But, shouldn't you guys be more open with each other by now?"

"Are you going to tell me again how you don't trust her and she's not good for me?"

"No, no, I'm not doing that… she has proven to be our friend and ally. She loves you deeply and I actually think she is great for you." admitted the dark vigilante.

"…but?" asked Raven nervous about where this was going.

"I have the impression that some things bother you about your relationship, but you don't want to bring them up because you still feel guilty, and are afraid that if you dig to much you might push her away… So you hold back and just swallow the things that bother you out of fear."

Raven remained silent for a while. She just looked up front to where she was going. After a while she finally admitted.

"That is very insightful…"

"So… I'm not mistaken?"

"Maybe I've been spoiling her too much…" conceded the empath. "You really think she is great for me?"

"Just don't tell her that."

They both smiled at each other, but before any of them could continue the conversation, the source of distress appeared on their line of sight.

They could see on the distance a big, abandoned construction site. Smoke and flames were rising from the place, although the fire didn't seem to be spreading. They didn't wait for their other teammates to arrive; as they drew near, they could clearly make out the smell of burning wood... and flesh.

Once inside, they found themselves in the middle of a ritualistic kill site. Several bodies were tied to a stake and set on fire. Raven immediately put out the flames by engulfing them on a cloud of darkness. They were too late though.

"Raven, see if the culprit is still nearby, I'll check the bodies."

"The only alive presence I can feel is ours." answered the demoness sourly. "Unless we are dealing with vampires, no one else is here but us."

Nightwing approached one of the bodies; there was a sign on a metal plate hanging over its head. It read the word witch.

Raven took the sign that hung from a lone pyre. There was no dead body there, but the wood had been burning as bright as the other ones. She wondered why they bothered lighting it up if there had been no one there, until she realized there had been, just no one human. The sign read: blood sucker.

"The vampire hunters Mika was afraid of…" Raven turned to look at Dick with evident fear for her loved one. "Richard they were here, they did this. This pile of ashes was one of the missing neonates."

"And it appears they are not only dangerous for vampires…" he pointed at the signs hanging from the other bodies. "Witch, Shifter, Demon whore, Sodomite, Succubus, and Blood sucker… I think that's what they call different supernatural creatures, or well anyone that deviates from their points of view… isn't Sodomite a word used to refer to…"

"Gay people... at least according to the bible."

"Well, it seems that finding them and putting a stop to their fanatic acts just became Titan's #1 priority."

...

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2: Halloween Story

**Chapter 2: A Halloween Story  
**

**October 31, 09:14 pm**

Raven and Mika were snuggled on the couch at Mika's apartment. They had been watching an old horror flick, but when the movie ended none made a move to grab the remote and put another one. They stood in comfortable silence until Raven broke the enchantment.

"So… Mexican…"

The vampire sighed mildly annoyed. "Raven I know you are mad at me, but seriously, I'm in no mood for a big fight where you rub in my face how I'm not being honest with you."

"I'm not mad… and I'm not starting a fight." defended the demoness as she turned around to be face to face with her girlfriend. "It's just, you know everything about me; where I'm from, my parents, the prophecy, everything..."

"Your entire story is composed only of 21 years Raven; I'm almost 100 years older than you!" retorted Mika brashly. "Have I lied to you when you've asked me something about my past? No. Only because I have not shared every detail of my existence does not mean I'm a liar."

Raven was shaken by her outburst. She was trying to remain calm and not start a fight, but she was really not expecting this. "Right… sorry I asked."

Mika inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes. She didn't really need to breath but it was one of those things that could calm and center her. After releasing the air she was holding she hugged Raven and dug her face on her shoulder blade.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't lose my patience like that, not for something like this…"

"Mika, what is wrong? I'm beginning to think it's not just me you've been losing your patience so easily with. You acted like that with your sister and with that poor neonate… the one we haven't determined if he was the ashes we found at that awful scene."

"I don't know, maybe I'm just on edge with the whole vampire hunter thing. I'm the Prince and everyone is looking up to me to do something to keep them safe, and all I've done is hide myself and hide them like cowards… just waiting to see if they move on and forget about us."

"Hey, it's going to be alright." reassured the superhero as she embraced her girlfriend. "It's not just vampires, so the Titans will deal with that. In the meantime, you just try to keep everyone safe and out of trouble."

"Ok yeah, I'll do that."

"And about the subject that began this entire conversation, I'm sorry… I know your past brings you a lot of pain, so you prefer to just shove it in the deep, dark confines of your mind. I'm sorry I asked. Is not important where you are from." continued Raven, trying to make her feel better.

"Raven, I know I'm not good at sharing… but you shouldn't be afraid to ask. I'm sorry about the way I reacted. Please, feel free to ask me anything." affirmed the vampire in apologetic tone.

"Thank you."

They stood in awkward silence after that. Raven had many things she wanted to ask, but at the same time was afraid to. Dick was right. Maybe it was time to forgive herself and stop tip toeing around her lover.

Mika seem to read her mind as she urged: "Ok, spill it."

"Did your sister really kill your father?" Raven asked, she had an awful lot of more questions, but considering their last conversation it was the first to come to her mind.

"I don't know…" Mika looked crestfallen. "She really thinks she did."

"You were not there?"

"No."

"I thought you two had been, what do you call it? Embraced together? Isn't Alexander both of your sire?" inquired the empath.

"No, he's not. That's why Caro and I have very different abilities." explained the vampire gently. "Alexander just took us in. Both of our real sires are dead."

"I see…"

Mika could see Raven wanted to dig more on the subject, but didn't know how to proceed. So she got an idea on how to enlighten her further on her past.

"Want me to tell you a Halloween story?"

Raven though this was a strange change of subject, but didn't object to it and just nodded.

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Like all good horror stories, it all starts on a dark and stormy night. There was this girl, 19 years old… ehm… let's call her Mariana for story's sake.

One night, Mariana woke up startled as her father grabbed her from bed. There were riots on the streets. The sound of gunshots broke the night in perfect synchrony with the roaring thunder. Her father knew they would come for them, so he urged his daughter to pack quickly and head for the port. The storm and the night would hide them, so they could get away to safety.

But once they reached the port, her father handed Mariana to this tall, dark man, with a foreign accent. She had seen him on different occasions doing business with her father. He told her the man would protect her on her journey, for he could not go with her, he had to go and find the rest of their family and try to save them as well.

Mariana cried, knowing her father would probably not make it alive. The revolution was coming. But she could do nothing, for she was weak, and she was naught but a woman. Good only for marriage, not for war, her maid always said. So she kissed him goodbye, and off she went on the ship.

The man made good on his promise, guarding Mariana with devotion from other men on board. Unfortunately, the weather was harsh, and soon they found themselves trapped on a storm.

Their ship did not make it. The mast was the first to go down stroke by lighting. The young girl stood up from her cabin downstairs as the screaming began, for the deck had caught on fire. Her guardian grabbed her and they ran till they reached the lifeboats. But the other passengers were in panic and they soon found themselves fighting for a space to get away from the roaring inferno on deck.

Somehow they managed to board a boat and they hit the water. Mariana grabbed herself with all her strength, for the waves tried to rip her from the tiny boat. At some point she fell unconscious, exhausted by the ordeal.

When she woke up, they were on an island. Her guardian, 5 sailors, and 7 more passengers had survived; but now they were stranded. At first they thanked the lord for their luck, but as days became nights, they realized they were not so lucky, and they were not alone. There was a beast on the island.

It only came at night. But when it did, there was always a dead body behind.

Everyone grew paranoid. The survivors fought each other during the day, discussing ways on how to survive another night. During one of these fights, her guardian took Mariana for a walk. She did not want to get too far in case the monster appeared, but he convinced her it was fine. Mariana did not know, the beast was not whom she had to worry about.

People said she was very pretty. With fair skin inherited from a far off land. She was a beautiful temptation, and her guardian was a man after all.

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"What did he do to her?" Raven interrupted, she had been immediately enchanted by her girlfriend's storytelling, and ached and feared to know what came next.

"He did what bad man do…"

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Mariana cried, and tried to scream as he ripped her dress and took by force her innocence. But her pained howling was muffled by the violent slaps to shush her. He beat her up until she fell unconscious.

Once she woke up, sore and broken, it was already night. There was blood dripping lightly between her legs, so she crawled to a stream to wash off. And that's when she heard it… or more like felt it.

The beast was lurking in the shadows; waiting for the moment to prey on her. But strangely in that moment, she felt no fear. Fear of what exactly? She had already lost her family, she had lost her land, she had lost her innocence. Why would she be afraid of losing her life now?

So when the beast came she welcomed it with open arms, for she now longed for sweet oblivion. And, as the sweet kiss of death took her away, for the first time she felt ecstasy.

But the peace of death did not come for long. Soon she woke up again… and she was thirsty. It was as if her throat was a fiery dessert. And she needed to quench that thirst, but water did not suffice. She needed something stronger, something richer. She needed life itself to appease it.

So she looked desperately for a source of the sweet nectar she craved for. She ran across the woods to where she felt she would find it. She was barefoot, but she felt no pain from the rocks and branches. She was half naked, but she felt no cold. She ran, but she felt not tired. She was really dead, but she had never felt more alive.

And as destiny would have it, she stumbled in front of the man with the foreign accent; the monster that once paroled as her guardian. He laughed at her appearance, and tried to take her by force again. But she realized she was weak no more.

He broke her body and her heart; so she broke his and ripped his heart. And the thirst was no more. And she was afraid no more. For Mariana was no more. For she had now become the monster…

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Raven swallowed down tears. Mika's voice slightly quivered on some parts as she retold her story, but for the most part she remained stoic. She looked into the distance as if she was watching things unfolding before her eyes, and it broke Raven. She might not be able to feel her girlfriend's emotions with her empathic powers, but she could see them in her eyes. Once the Titan regained the composure she gathered the courage to ask:

"Was that you? Mariana…"

"Mariana is no more. Mariana died devoured by monsters…" at hearing her birth name from Raven's lips, Mika finally broke. A gentle sob escaped her throat as a lone, bloody tear dripped down her porcelain skin.

Raven hugged her as the vampire cried on her shoulder. After a few minutes Mika regained her composure and stood to the bathroom to wash her face. When she returned she noted:

"I ruined your shirt… it's all bloody now."

"It wouldn't be the first time our clothes get blood on them. That's what you get when a vampire and a demon date."

Mika smiled slightly and took a seat next to her.

"Where did you get the name Mika from?"

"It was my mother's name…" replied the vampire. "When I finally got out of that island, I didn't feel like Mariana anymore. Mariana was a delicate, well mannered girl, prepared for marriage. And my father would always say that my mother was a strong and independent woman, very fiery. I thought it was appropriate to the new me. No one knew me anyway; I could be whoever I wanted to be."

"What did your sire called you?"

"He never really knew my name." explained Mika "I barely heard him speak 2 words. I don't think he even remember his own name. God knows how long he had been stranded on that island."

"What happened to your sire? You said he was dead."

"He was burned alive by the other survivors..." recalled sourly her undead girlfriend. "Last thing he told me was to run and don't turn back. He would hold them back. So I ran. But I didn't obey him and I turned. And saw him burn to ashes in that godforsaken island…"

"What did you do after that?" inquired the demoness. "I mean, you obviously got away."

"The moment I saw him die I actually stopped running. They had just killed the one being that made me strong; the one that released me from my pain. And I just saw red…" Mika watched her girlfriend's reactions carefully, probably fearing the moment she would finally recoil away from her. She didn't though, just listened carefully so she continued: "Raven I don't want to have to get near the hunters because I'm afraid I'll… If it's choosing between me or my sister, and them, I'll just…"

"You won't." replied the empath guessing where this was going. "Mika you won't. You were a bloodcrazed neonate back then. You are not anymore. You are a hero now. You've saved me, and saved the city, more than once actually."

"But I'm still a vampire. There is still a beast inside of me."

"Baby you are also vegan!" chided the Titan. "Except for our little love bites, your diet is entirely synthetic. And you know, the love bites are more for kinky sex than for nourishment. You don't consider that food, do you?"

"No… that's more like indulgence… like chocolate." smiled slyly the vamp.

"Is it weird that I find it hot that you consider me chocolate?"

Mika chuckled. "You are trying to distract me."

"You are right. I'm sorry. I don't know why I get so worked up about you not sharing when I'm so bad at talking about feelings." Raven reprimanded herself. "Why did you choose to tell me now?"

"I don't know. Maybe is this whole day of the dead thing that reminded me of my own death."

"Is all your past this tragic weight you carry on your shoulders?"

"Well no… I mean, I was human once. And that was mostly good." recalled Mika. "Caroline has actually been trying to make us do things we used to do as kids lately… probably to distract me out of being so broody."

"Things like the altar of Dia de Muertos?"

"Yeah… you think I should humor my sister into doing an altar for the day of the dead like we used to?"

Raven just shrugged. "When was the last time you did one?"

"I was 16… It was before my sister got sent to a convent in Mexico City. We used to do one for our mother every year."

"How did you mother pass away?"

"She was the first person we ever killed…" blurted the vampire humorlessly, getting a scowl form Raven. "Ok, it sounded wittier in my mind… she died in labor. We never really met her."

"Do not joke about killing people, is not funny." scolded the empath.

"Sorry."

"Anyway, what do you do the altar for?"

"It is believed that on that day, the dead come back to visit us." Mika stated before clarifying "Not in the spooky Halloween hunting way. They come to dine and party with their living family before returning to the underworld. The altar is adorned with candles to light their way to us. And food that they liked when they were alive is placed for them to enjoy… It is a festivity with songs, and food, and stories…"

"That's nice… You should do it. Can anyone participate in that?"

"Sure. The more the merrier. We could invite your friends for it if you like."

"I'm sure the guys would enjoy it, we all have people we've lost." Raven smiled at her, happy that she was looking in a better mood. But then she turned to look at the clock and frowned.

"Something wrong?"

"I have to go. With everything that's going on I am required to patrol."

Mika sighed before nodding. "Don't worry, I understand. Thank you for keeping us safe."

"Are you going to go out tonight?" questioned Raven as she stood up from the couch.

"It's Halloween…"

"Yeah, that's precisely why I'm asking."

"Vampires don't go out on Halloween." answered Mika as she explained. "There are just too many people. It's dangerous. So we stay inside."

"That… is unexpected." replied the Titan. "Is that why your Halloween party was yesterday?"

"Yeah… you won't see any real vampires trick or treating tonight."

"Hum… well, if you are not trick or treating, would you like some candy before I go?" offered her girlfriend with a smirk.

"Candy?"

"Yeah…" Raven seductively straddled her as she caressed her face. "Some chocolate…"

"Oh!" Mika opened her eyes wide, realizing finally what she meant by it. "How can I say no to chocolate?"

They kissed long and deep before Raven put some distance to be able to offer her neck to the vampire. Mika kissed and licked it, causing her girlfriend to slightly squirm in pleasure. Her hands kept the empath firmly in place as her fangs elongated. She tasted her skin one last time before finally piercing her skin. And as the sweet nectar of life flowed freely to the vampire's mouth, they both moaned in ecstasy…

...

_To be continued... _


	3. Chapter 3: All Saints Day

**Chapter 3 - All Saints Day...**

**November 1st, 11:25 am – Titan Tower**

Bang. Bang. Bang!

Raven growled covering her ears, but the incessant bang on her door continued. Just when she had finally made her mind quiet enough to fall in a deep slumber, someone with a death wish decided it was wise to disturb her.

She finally stood up and opened her door violently. Garfield was on the other side with his fist raised ready to keep on knocking. He stood frozen like a deer caught in the headlights as he watched the demoness' second pair of eyes awaken causing him to yelp in panic.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

"Dick asked me to come pick you up for a team meeting!" shrieked her teammate as he covered his face fearing she might slap him.

Raven breathed in deeply and chanted for herself her usual mantra. Once she calmed down she continued: "Is it really necessary we have a meeting at this hour?"

"Well… everyone went to sleep at the same hour Raven." pointed out the Changeling. "Is not our fault you were having wild BDSM sex before patrol instead of resting."

"I wasn't having wild BDSM sex!" quickly retorted the empath. "I wasn't even having sex last night!"

"Why? Did you two had a fight?"

"Seriously… we do other things besides getting laid you know." added Raven with a mortified expression on her face. Ever since the incident with control freak, the BDSM comments seemed to be nonstop whenever there was a mention of her relationship with the vampire.

"You had blood on your shirt."

"That doesn't mean we were having sex!" snapped Raven.

"But she bit you right? That's like totally orgasmic…"

Gar continued to press on making Raven finally teleport him out of the Tower.

"What we do in private is none of your business." mumble the demoness fuming until Starfire appeared around the corner.

"Good morning friend! You are finally awake. The Nightwing has news for you concerning your loved one."

"Good morning Star… Did he find something on the hunters?"

"I believe he did, come."

Raven allowed Starfire to grab her by the hand and lead her to the common area. Cyborg and Nightwing were already there and waiting for them to take a seat. Before anyone could say anything, Changeling came running through the front door gasping for air.

"Dude, what were you doing outside?" wondered Cy.

"I woke up Raven." deadpanned his teammate.

"He started with the sexual innuendos." replied Raven making their leader sigh loudly.

"Alright people, let's start the meeting. I got some good and bad news."

"What's the good news?" asked Cyborg trying to hurry their leader so they could get breakfast.

"Even though patrol proved to be unfruitful last night… I guess Mika was right about monsters don't coming out on Halloween… I did gather some information on what we are dealing with." explained Nightwing loading images on the big TV. "All bodies we found at the scene have been identified, even the pile of ashes."

"Anyone we would miss?" asked Raven worriedly. This situation got her on edge since it intimately involved her girlfriend.

"Not really. The Witch was Jeremiah Dawson. Yes, he was a man, not a woman as suspected. He was also an ex-con and rumored practitioner of the black arts. He poisoned several of his victims claiming it as the result of black voodoo magic."

"So the hunters actually caught a bad guy?" asked Changeling incredulous.

"He was not the only one. The Demon Whore was Siobah Lawrence a demonic cult recruiter who was absolved from facing trial due to the fact that we live in a country that promotes religious freedom and she only dealt with legal adults. The fact that some of the people she came in contact with committed ritual suicide a couple of months later is considered only circumstantial and not a legal basis for trial."

"Why do I feel that we are getting a pattern here?" mumbled Raven as Nightwing continued.

"The Succubus was an escort and blackmailer, suspected of drugging or bewitching her victims. The Sodomite was a conman who would parole as a medium to offer his clients the opportunity to have a romantic encounter with their death lovers though him…" everyone's bewildered faces made him add: "yeah, hard to believe how anyone fell for that. He was also diagnosed with HIV several months ago, yet continued working."

"So he was consciously spreading AIDS?" asked Cyborg mortified.

"It would appear so… Moving to the more supernatural; the Shapeshifter was a hermit man on the outsides of the city rumored to be responsible for the disappearances of hikers and campers on Smoky Mountain. And the Blood Sucker was one of the most troublesome vampires in the city, which Mika suspected was hunting and killing vagabonds." Raven raised her eyebrows at this. She was not expecting to hear Mika had admitted one of her people had been killing and she did nothing about it. "Yes, she came clean on that once I questioned her; she had no proof though to act accordingly. And she also confirmed the presence of werewolves on Smoky Mountain, apparently vampires know better than to approach the place."

"Dude, so vampires and werewolves rivalry is a real thing?" asked Gar in astonishment.

"It is…" confirmed Raven. "Mika once mentioned she used to be a werewolf hunter. Said they were not nice…"

"Yeah well, not only was this werewolf not nice; neither of the dead bodies we found were saints regardless of being human or supernatural." commented Cyborg analyzing the report on each one of them that Nightwing handed over to the team.

"Not only were they doing bad things. They were also denounced on this website." added their leader as he loaded the screenshots of a web page.

"The Vigil" read Starfire. "The hunters have a site on the web?"

"On the deep web only…" clarified the masked vigilante. "And they have lots of followers; people will write about the supernatural that prey on their communities so they get eliminated."

Raven looked at it disgusted as she added. "That's very dangerous. Anyone could write anything about anyone, regardless of the truth."

"It is the deep web." accentuated Cyborg.

Nightwing continued explaining: "Apparently when enough petitions come from a particular city, it gets a visit from the hunters. To purge it from evil…"

"That's really bad news dude."

"That is not the bad news…" replied Nightwing to Changeling's comment. "This group is an interstate organization with multiple charges on vigilantism. Their jurisdiction falls on the FBI… considering we technically are vigilantes, they are asking us to step down from the investigation."

"WHAAAAAATTTT?!"

The team's discomfort was loudly expressed at that moment. Nightwing sighed again as he listened to Starfire's tamaranean curses, Cyborg's and Changeling's expletives on the corrupt system, and had to put up with Raven's death glare.

"I promised Mika I would deal with it." hissed the demoness between gritted teeth.

Dick knew she was going to take this personal, so he tried to make her calm down by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Mika's name was not in the list of targets; only really bad people are… and she doesn't hunt as to risk her to be picked up randomly. She should be safe from the Hunter's scrooge. Just tell her to keep her people out of trouble."

"So we are just going to let these hunters clean up the city for us? Regardless of how wrong their methods are?" spitted the empath.

"The FBI will have a detail following others on the list and will try to capture the culprits."

"So we are just going to drop it?" asked again Starfire worriedly.

"Of course not! We are going to continue, just not as the Titans…"

Everyone nodded at that, understanding what their leader meant.

"Take out your civilian clothes, we are going undercover…"

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**November 1st - 10:45 pm**

"Hey luv? How is patrol going?" asked Mika cheerfully as she played with a few syringes, bandages and tape to build what looked like an action figure.

Uneventful so far… I cannot fly around, so I have to walk… I hate walking. was heard coming from her cell phone.

"You hate everything." casually commented the vampire, still focused on her creation.

I don't hate everything. objected the Titan as she added. I love you… and all the things we do…

The vampire naughtily smiled at this as she left her creation on the side to listen more carefully. "Really, what do you love me doing to you?"

Well… I think I'm becoming addicted to your little love bites… especially the ones where you trace your tongue down my thighs and…

"Seriously!? You are going to have phone sex with me here?"

Mika heard Katherine complain behind her, followed by a box of paracetamol that impacted her head. She winced at this as she added: "I'm not been loud… and I haven't said anything sexual… yet."

"I have supernatural hearing… Your girlfriend might as well be yelling at my ear."

Mika? You are not alone?

"I'm with Katherine in the clinic's van. It's pick up day. We are going to be delivering synthetic blood to the neonates."

You are out on the street right now with hunters on the loose?

"Dick said we should be fine, the hunters only target dangerous and known criminals." asserted the vampire. "Besides, we are been extra careful. We are in a medical unit outside the baseball stadium. Tonight there's a big game and the place is packed. No one will suspect; everyone is too focused on the game. And if anyone actually needs medical attention, Katherine is a real doctor. She can handle it."

"Hey Romeo, are you going to be done any time soon?"

"I gotta go babe. Kath is bitching already. Luv ya."

Love you too.

Mika hung up her cell phone and turned with a scowl to look at Katherine.

"Shouldn't you address me with more respect? I am the Prince, you know…"

"I met you when you were mopping about your first ex, I've seen you lose your marbles about Raven for sleeping with another woman, and I know the only reason you are the Prince is because you are Alexander's pet toy… so leave the Prince act for the neonates." concluded the vampire doctor with her characteristic mischievous grin.

"Geez ok, sorry I asked…" replied Mika before mumbling under her breath: "Bitch much."

"I can hear you…" warned Katherine. "You should be glad that I don't address you like this on public."

They stood there in silence for a while until two neonates approached them on an old van. They were both jumpy and nervous to be outside, and Mika's presence seemed to make them even more uneasy. So they quickly loaded 4 boxes of bottled synthetic blood and left hurriedly.

"It's the last time I bring you with me. You make the pups whimper in fear." accused Katherine.

"Fear keeps them safe, especially in times like this." argued the Prince. "Anyway, aren't you afraid?"

"I think I made it very clear why I don't fear you."

"Not of me!" corrected Mika. "Aren't you afraid the hunters might show up?"

"No… they have no reason to target us. And besides, even if they did show up, we are more than capable of getting rid of them. I don't see why you of all people would be afraid; you've faced a horde of demons and defeated a fallen angel. They are just human, it's not like they would do you any real harm."

"I'm not afraid of them hurting me… I'm afraid I might hurt them." explained the vampire to her friend. "I'm afraid I might lose my humanity if I face them…"

Katherine raised an eyebrow and looked at her as if she had grown 2 heads. "Why?"

"Because I might kill them."

"So? What does that have to do with your humanity?"

Now it was Mika's turn to look at her as if she had gone crazy, failing to understand why Katherine would seem so blasé.

"Katherine, I might have to kill humans!"

"Oh come on. People kill each other all the time… and they are still human." explained her friend as a matter of fact. "You are not stalking and hunting them, you are defending yourself. We are in America; people are allowed to own guns to shoot down aggressors… It's in the constitution. Why would it be any different if we kill them with our fangs defending ourselves?"

"You are a pacifist who drinks synthetic blood and yet you wouldn't mind killing the hunters?"

"If I was still a human and a burglar entered my house and tried to rape and kill me, and I got hold of a gun, I would not doubt in shooting down the bastard. And you think anyone would mind I did? No, that's why the feds asked the Titans to step down. Deep down, they applaud the hunters for getting rid of the trash." retorted the doctor as she added "Life and death is not black and white… just like being human is not black and white either."

"That's very insightful…"

"I am an insightful and complex person." admitted the vampire in complete lack of modesty.

"Still… I believe that you cannot use a noble purpose to justify doing something wrong." added Mika.

"If that were so… how do you justify all the times you have lied to Raven to protect other vampires?"

Katherine's sharp tongue left Mika speechless. The Prince suddenly felt really ashamed and could no longer keep her eyes on her.

The doctor sensed her discomfort and continued in a gentler tone: "I'm not trying to be mean; I'm just saying things are not so black and white… Now stop mopping, people are approaching."

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"Hey Rae Rae!" called out Gar as he saw her friend approaching down the sidewalk. "Uhhmm you are not supposed to be patrolling this area, are you? Am I in the wrong place!?"

"Easy, you are not in the wrong place. I just wanted to check on Mika. She and Katherine are outside the baseball stadium handing out synthetic to the neonates."

"And you are worried they might attract unwanted attention." implied her teammate sensing where this was going.

"Yeah…. I mean. I know they technically should be fine… but you know Mika, she is a trouble magnet." rambled the demoness worriedly.

"I hear ya." Garfield turned in the direction of the stadium. "Well let's go."

"You are coming with me?"

"Yeah, I just want to say hi… to my friends… because I haven't seen them" this time Gar was the one rambling making Raven suspicious.

"Oh Azar! You want to hit on Katherine! Gar you are not her type."

"How do you know that?"

"Because she is the quiet, intellectual, no-nonsense type." explained Raven as she started walking to the stadium. "Kinda like me…"

"And you are dating Mika who is kinda like me; which means we are perfect for each other!"

"That's… that's actually a very valid point."

"She also likes horror, first person shooters… and I am really good at all video games. I could take her to a classic arcade, she probably played the original ones back in the day; she is a vampire after all. It would be the perfect date." reminded Changeling walking behind Raven to accentuate his point.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Whatever… come on."

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"Good evening. What can I do for you boys?" asked Katherine in an uncharacteristically amicable tone as she addressed 2 guys in their early 30's that approached the medical unit. They were wearing baseball t-shirts and caps.

"My friend is feeling lightheaded and dizzy…" explained one of them pointing to his feebler looking friend.

"Ok, please sit down. When was the last time you ate?"

"Around noon maybe…" answered the guy fidgeting in his place as Katherine checked his blood pressure.

"Your blood pressure is fine…" commented Katherine as she then checked his pulse. "Are you nervous?"

"I'm not fond of doctors."

Katherine looked at him as she listened to his heart. The pumping of his blood drummed loudly on her ears even though she was not using any instruments. The doctor could practically see the blood cruising on the bulging veins of his temple.

"Did you consume any… stimulant?"

"Stimulant? You are asking if I did drugs doctor?" he smiled warmly and denied shaking his head.

But as de flow of blood ran faster inside the man in front of her, Katherine's vampiric senses sharpened. She could hear a single drop of sweat as it traveled down his back. The night was cool enough that all the humans she had seen were wearing a light jacket, but his skin was warmer than was common. Then there was the smell… he was afraid.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Mika noticing the frown on her companion's face. She was so focused on Katherine that she failed to notice the second guy had positioned himself behind her.

The doctor reacted on a nick of time and pushed Mika to the side as she was about to get staked. The Prince fell to the ground and watched helplessly as Katherine grabbed the second man who had launched to attack her and lifted him up by the collar of his shirt. She bared her fangs and would have undoubtedly sunk them into him, had it not been for a wooden stake fired at her back from the other side of the street.

"Kath!"

The wooden projectile pierced her back right on her heart and her limp body fell hard to the floor. Mika quickly covered her friend from further harm with her own body as she glared at the arrival of 3 more hunters.

"One is down. One more to go."

"Inquisitors…" hissed Mika as she tensed her muscles, preparing to fight.

"Wait for the right moment." instructed the eldest looking one carrying a crossbow. "Remember we are dealing with a dangerous animal."

"Dangerous animal? The pot calls the kettle. I'm not the one killing off people on the streets."

"That is debatable."

The hunter shot a rapid succession of wooden stakes which made Mika dock and dodge to evade them, but this was the sign for his other companions to move and throw ropes to bind her arms and restrain her legs.

The stadium behind them roared with the cheering of the spectators. Someone had connected a home run. The game was on its peak, and there was still another half an hour to go. Mika knew she would not last that long. If the hunters took her, no one would notice.

"What do you want from us? We were not hurting anyone." pleaded the vampire hoping beyond hope that she could appeal to their logic before having the need to let her beast loose on them.

"Not directly no… but we heard of what you and the doctor do from the ones we captured before."

Mika looked at them confused as to what could the vampire neonates told the hunters about them. "What…?"

GROAAARRRRRRR

A big, green lion jumped in front of Mika, making the hunters back off startled and drop the ropes they had lashed around the vampire. Some of them tried to run, only to stumble and fall over as a shadow tendril made them trip.

"I know you probably tell yourself you are doing society a favor in order to sleep at night, but deep down you must know what you do is just wrong." Raven was standing right behind them ready to use her powers.

"Titans, they are not what they seem! We are the good ones!"

"All I see is a bunch of wanted criminals." spitted Raven in evident rage.

"Sorry you think that."

After those words all the hunters released smoke bombs and began to scatter trying to escape. Mika dashed after one of them, while Raven dealt with the leader.

Gar turned back into his human form and noticed Katherine's dead body on the floor. He quickly approached her and pulled the stake out of her back. The reaction was immediate after that. The doctor bolted from the floor and growled in frenzy. Her eyes turned crimson and her features became animalistic. Despise the smoke, she could clearly make out the shape of the hunters, and smell the blood rapidly pumping through their veins. In her bestial state, she launched towards the hunter's leader and aimed straight for his neck.

Raven barely had time to notice, as she used her magic to protect the man from the blood crazed vampire.

"An animal, like I tried to tell you!"

Raven frowned, she was now not only defending herself from the hunters' weapons; she was also trying to stop them from getting bitten by Katherine. Gar jumped in front of her as she was about to rip the throat of the only woman in the group of hunters, and he was bitten in the process.

"Changeling!"

The empath concentrated her magic into herself before releasing a powerful projection of her shadow self. As always, it took the form of a four eyed raven. The grim bird flapped its wings creating a devastating whirlwind that knocked down the 4 hunters and separated Katherine from Gar.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…" chanted the demoness reigning in her power once again. She looked at the hunters which were out cold, then turned to look at Kath who seemed normal sans a bit confused and Gar who looked fine if not a bit flustered.

Mika was nowhere to be seen though.

"Gar deal with this, and call the others. I'm going to look for my girlfriend." she instructed before dashing off.

"Uuuh sure." He turned to look around at the hunters on the floor, and then at Katherine who was approaching him. Blood had smeared her chin, his blood he remembered, making her look frightful.

"I'm sorry about… you know."

Unexpectedly the vampire apologized. Gar thought she would have probably blushed ashamed had it not been that it was physically impossible for her to blush.

"Don't worry about it! You were injured and lost control. I was actually worried about you; luckily wooden stakes are just a myth after all." he answered with a cheeky grin on his face trying to put her at ease. Yes, she was mostly frightening; but he also found her really beautiful in her animal-like state. "Hey, I understand better than most people what it's like when the animal inside takes over."

"Right…" she was about to turn around and leave, but she decided to address him again: "Your blood is surprisingly tasty."

"I am delicious." commented Gar offhandedly.

"Anyway… sorry again if I caught you off guard with the… ehm…"

"Aphrodisiac effects of your bite?" inquired the Titan sensing her hesitation. "Hey, you are not the only one that finds me delicious; I've experienced Caroline's love bites plenty of times."

"Caroline drinks from you?" gasped the doctor surprised. "I never imagined you as her type… she is kind of a picky eater."

"The Changeling is every girl's type." bragged Garfield as he approached her with a seductive grin on his face. "I was actually wondering, if maybe you would like to…"

"…you do have shape shifting abilities." interrupted the vampire not really listening to what he had been saying. "Would you mind if I take a blood sample?"

"Huh?"

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Mika silently chased the hunter that escaped during the commotion down several alleys. He kept running until they reached an abandoned building and stopped to gasp for air. The vampire noticed he was a young boy, probably 16, he looked pale and tired as he removed the hoodie he used to partially cover his face.

The small hunter turned to look around, but could spot no one, so he went in. Mika debated between going after him or letting him go. His leader was probably already apprehended by the Titans, and he looked naïve and scared. On the other hand, he was a risk to his people, and to the masquerade. And she was the Prince…

In the end she decided to go after him, to try and figure out what the others had said about her and Katherine before meeting final death. She was not ready for what she found inside though.

The stench of human waste penetrated her nostrils as soon as she stepped in; used up needles scattered around the floor along with garbage and other kinds of filth. She walked by rooms with old and broken furniture where people of all ages curled against each other seeking shelter or comfort. Moaning and panting could be heard coming from other floors; along with sobs and silent prayers.

This place housed all kinds of vermin, at least for society's standards: drug addicts, prostitutes, vagabonds, orphans… the outcasts.

She finally found the young hunter caring over 2 other kids no older than 10. They were eating from what looked like scraps of old cheese burgers they probably stole or fished out of a dumpster. The boy seemed to sense Mika's presence and turned scared to the corner where she stood hidden amongst the shadows. The vampire took her index finger and placed it over her lips, signaling him to be quiet as she turned and looked at the other two boys that remained oblivious. He understood the message and stood up. He hesitated a few moments before slowly walking away from them while Mika followed him closely.

They kept walking without words until they reached a deserted inner patio. Mika's senses were on alert and she could hear his beating heart run faster and faster. She noticed his muscles tense and immediately realized he was thinking about fleeing.

"I would not do that if I were you…" warned the vampire. "You cannot outrun me. And I believe you would not want to abandon your little friends."

These words made him freeze in his spot. His breathing became irregular and he slowly turned to face her. He was terrified. It was the same expression she saw on her victims all those years ago; after she had chased them down and they finally understood it was their last breaths.

A pang of guilt pierced her heart at that, finally realizing she had acted as a predator. She had chased and stalked him, made him believe his family was in danger, until he could do nothing but pray for her mercy.

"I know you will probably not believe this, but I am not here to harm you. I just want to know why you attacked me and my friend. We were harming no one…"

"You are still a monster…" lisped the teen. "Like the one that came here and would sometimes take others away to never be seen again… At least until the vigilantes ended him."

"Is that why you joined them? Someone you cared about was taken by one like me?"

The boy nodded as he remained immobile.

"I know what it feels like to feel weak and vulnerable. I was human just like you. And I was hurt really bad, but not by creatures that go bumping in the night. My monster was just a regular guy… he… he touched me, and beat me, and left me to die. And then the creature that did this to me came, and I was no longer weak. And I thought I had a right to hurt men like the one that hurt me. And I thought I was doing everyone a favor. I'm sure that's how you must have felt when the hunters came and gave that to you." Mika pointed at the stake he kept hanging from his belt. "But the truth is you cannot defeat the monsters by becoming one of them."

"But there are monsters." accentuated the boy. "You have not denied that."

"Yes, there are…"

"And you are the one that rules over them, and all you do is cover up for them." argued the teen with indignation, before remembering who he was talking to and nervously added "…that's what the others said."

"I might have turned a blind eye… yes." admitted the vampire Prince.

"That means the monsters, the real monstrous ones, just get away with everything."

"Given the opportunity, and with the right guidance, some later regret what they've done and change their existence." explained Mika trying to make him see her point. "The doctor and I are just trying to give them a second chance."

The boy pressed his hands into fists as he tried to contain his anger. "Oh and regret is going to give the dead a second chance too? Regret is going to make up for their crimes, for the people they hurt, for the families they destroyed?"

"No…"

"If I had stayed, if I had not escaped, I would be on my way to jail with the others. But what about monsters like the one that took my father? Why aren't they paying for their crimes like the rest of us?" A single tear ran down his cheek. "Your so called second chance protects sinners and saints alike. All those deaths are yours to blame as much as them."

Mika stared directly into the boy's eyes. His fear was replaced with rage, one Mika recognized she would not be able to quell.

The sound of a cape blowing in the wind broke the silence that had befell between them. Raven arrived at the place and stood beside Mika. The vampire immediately turn to look at her, drawing her attention.

"The other hunter got away…" lied the vampire. Making the boy turn to look at her suspiciously. "This nice young fellow was telling me the hunters were here for a while. But now they are gone."

Raven turned to look at the teen and he seemed to quickly ponder his options before nodding shyly and lowering his sight to the ground.

"Are you alright?" asked the empath trying to sense if her girlfriend had been injured somehow.

"Yes. I'm fine." reassured the vampire. "I'm sure you still have more criminals to catch, don't let us steal your valuable time."

Raven wanted to hold her girlfriend tightly. When she saw her being attacked she got really scared. But she knew she couldn't exactly act on her feelings while in public. So she just nodded and levitated off the ground.

"Be careful… there are psychos on the loose."

With Mika's last smile she flew off, hoping to see her soon. The vampire just stood there for a moment as the Titan disappeared out of sight. She then turned to look at the boy for a few seconds, before finally turning around to leave as well.

"You are just gonna go?"

The Prince stopped. She heard the the pumping of his heart pike at this.

"Didn't you sent her away so you could kill me?"

"If you believed that, you wouldn't have supported my lie… unless you want me to kill you." retorted Mika, wondering if that was actually the case. She quickly pushed those thoughts away before continuing: "Call me naïve… but I believe in second chances."

"…that might get you killed one day. I'm not the only one who knows about your kind." replied the boy in a tone she could not recognize if as a threat or as a concerned warning. "I heard them talking. More are coming…"

Mika looked at him one last time before disappearing into the shadows.

...

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4: Dia de Muertos

Sorry for the wait! I tried to had it ready for the actual 2nd of November but that just did not happen.

I hope you enjoy it, and please leave me your reviews, they make me better!

* * *

**Chapter 4:Dia de Muertos**

**November 2nd, 9:35pm**

Raven had to admit there was a certain charm to Dia de Muertos. Mika and Caroline had gone all the way with their Mexican tradition, even painting their faces as the traditional Catrinas; the old-fashioned, elegant skeleton costume. Actually, the amount of skulls in all kind of materials, colors and sizes scattered around the altar would put any goth store to shame. The twins even said once they were done with the celebration, everyone could take a candy skull as a souvenir.

There was also an insane amount of food and alcoholic beverages; like tequila, mezcal, and a bread they said its bread of the dead… whatever that meant. They also added some American style food that, they asked beforehand, was of the likes of Dick's, Victor's, and Gar's dead parents. Starfire also supplied some Tamaranean looking dishes and some Earth delicacies (mostly mustard and other condiments) she said her parents would have liked. Apparently the food was so the dead would also enjoy it. They even joked about the only reason their father would come back from the underworld was to drink tequila.

Other things were of more spiritual nature… they adorned the altar with yellow and orange flowers whose purpose was to emulate the sun so the dead could find their way. There was water, salt, twelve purple candles, copal, incense, a crucifix, and finely cut colored paper.

Raven was transfixed looking at the various pictures of the dead amongst the food, and flowers, and light of the candles. Even the various smells added to the mysticism. Her friends seemed to be enjoying as well; Nightwing regaled them with circus stories, as Cyborg and Changeling were enjoying the food and traditional candies, and Caroline painted Starfire's face as a Catrina.

She turned to look at her girlfriend beside her; but immediately worried when she saw her looking out into the distance lost in thought.

"Are you still thinking about what the hunter said…" asked tentatively the empath. She received a confused look in response until she clarified. "I might have overheard your conversation with the kid."

"And you are not mad?"

"That you lied to me to protect a scared teenage boy?" Raven sighed as she reassured her girlfriend. "I think it was very noble of you… very stupid considering he tried to kill you and he partially blames you for the death of his loved ones, but very noble."

"Yeah well… he was not mistaken about everything he said." admitted the vampire a bit crestfallen. "I never paid for any of my crimes. I probably killed as many bad people as the hunters. I deserve to be locked up or worst; so if my crimes come back and bite me in the ass later, maybe that's for the best."

"Even though I'm sure Nightwing would be happy to lock you up if you so insisted, I don't see how that would help make up for those deaths."

"Is there anything that will ever really do?" wondered Mika still deep in thought.

Raven stood in front of her and took hold of both her hands. The vampire turned to look at her eyes with attention.

"You know why I became a superhero?"

"The fan girls?" blurted out the vampire with a silly grin on her face.

Raven tried not to roll her eyes. Of course she would joke about it to break the seriousness of the moment. She was so much like Gar in that way. So she ignored the comment and continued.

"I was destined to be the portal through which Trigon would come and destroy Earth… I knew I could never make up for all the evil I knew I was going to do, so I tried to balance it by trying to make this a better place in the meantime. In the end, that decision changed the fate of Azarath and Earth." explained the empath patiently.

"So you are saying I should…"

"You will never make up for your past crimes… but you might try and do some good to balance all the bad in this world."

Mika looked at her eyes as if looking for answers there before finally replying.

"I would like to help the people in that building somehow."

Raven gifted her with a smile; one that she knew was really only for her girlfriend. The vampire was the only one the demoness would put her walls down for just to make her happy.

"I think that would be really nice of you…" replied the Titan with a gentle smile.

Mika finally seemed to relax as she smiled back. She approached her girlfriend and gently cupped her face, as she closed the gap between their lips. It was sweet and gentle, but before they could deepen the kiss they were interrupted by Caroline.

"Manita! Stop making everyone horny and come here, I wrote a calavera for us." exclaimed the twin excitedly. She acted like she had consumed a great amount of candy, even though they knew it was impossible. Maybe she was just too hyped up about the festivity.

They approached their friends as Dick asked: "What is a calavera?"

"It is translated as skull… but it refers to a satirical poem or epitaph of sorts…" Mika tried to explain to their confused friends and lover. "ehm… anyway, one writes the Calaveras as a joke of sorts to tell the story about how Death takes you."

"About how Death takes you?" gasped Cyborg trying to make sense of what they were saying. For him this celebration bordered on creepy, touching, and confusing.

"It's sort of a way to challenge and mock death." added the twin.

"As if been a vampire was not already a way to challenge and mock Death." quipped Nightwing with a smirk on his face.

"Anyway, I wrote one about us. I'm not sure I got the tone right though; it sounds different in English. At some point I feared it was sounding as Dr Seuss meet the Nightmare Before Christmas." explained Caroline suddenly looking sheepish about her work as she looked over the piece of paper where she had scribbled the calavera.

Mika smiled at her before remembering she probably looked kind of creepy with her skeleton painted face; so she placed a hand on her twin's shoulder to show her support before reassuring her. "I'm sure it'll be great, let's hear it."

Everyone watched her with expectation. She cleared her throat as she began her tale…

_"On the eve of revolution_

_On horse as dark as night,_

_to la Hacienda of Don Alfonso_

_the Grim Reaper arrived._

_With much discontent_

_he let the reaper in._

_For it had taken his wife_

_the last time he did._

_Without wasting his time_

_Death declared_

_I come for your daughters_

_do not make me wait._

_The Italian man grinned,_

_and showed no despair._

_You are wasting your time,_

_they are not in my care._

_I sent one to God,_

_on a white horse carriage._

_And the other abroad_

_to prepare for marriage._

_The Grim Reaper left_

_but did not worry._

_Soon he would have them_

_for war was coming._

_He did not know,_

_the war they would dodge._

_One at high sea,_

_and one in the house of God._

_So he sent one a storm,_

_and fire and thunder._

_To bring down the boat_

_and pull her way under._

_For the other he dressed_

_a beast as a man._

_To tempt her to sin_

_in a horrific plan._

_In the end they went down_

_from a vicious bite._

_And Death stood victorious_

_over their lives._

_He did not count_

_that on the very same night,_

_the two scoundrels would rise_

_from their burial site._

_So the Reaper still chases them,_

_waiting for the time,_

_when the twins will undoubtedly_

_walk into the light."_

Raven thought it definitely sounded like something Tim Burton would make. But before she could comment on anything the silence was interrupted by Gar.

"Duuuude! Is that how you died?" gasped the Changeling looking at them.

"In an overly simplified way… yes." affirmed Caroline.

"Who died at sea?"

"Me… I used to be a pirate." quipped Mika before receiving an elbow to her ribs from her sister. "Ow… Fine, I was sent away to get married… didn't make it though."

"You were going to marry, like, a guy?" Gar was baffled by that revelation.

"Yes… it was customary for a man to marry a woman back 1910." noted the Vampire with a slight scowl on her face. "Actually, I'm not sure if my dad would have approved of the courtship of another woman."

"He had not realized you were the gay?" questioned Starfire joining in the conversation.

"How could he? I had not realized I was gay." admitted Mika.

"When did you?" asked Raven with curiosity. They'd never really talked about her coming out process.

"She became a lesbian in the 70's, how cliché." joked Caroline making her sister roll her eyes. "It actually reminds me…"

Caroline approached the altar and removed the picture of a red headed girl.

"Hey! Who told you to take her off?" complained her twin in outrage.

"No one; I decided so by myself." declared her sister as she put as much distance between Mika and the picture as she could.

"Give me that!"

"No."

The twins started brawling in the living room, as they cursed to one another in what they could only guess was a mix of Italian and Spanish.

"Who is the redhead?" asked Victor looking confused at their little family dispute.

"She is Mika's first girlfriend." clarified the empath.

"And you are not jealous Mika placed her on the altar?" questioned her cyborg friend.

"Like Caroline candidly mentioned once, why would I get jealous of a dead woman?" replied Raven with a shrug. "Besides, she is important to Mika."

Mika finally snatched the picture from her, and then protectively placed it against her chest. Her twin rolled her eyes and straightened her rumpled clothes.

"You did not like her Caroline?" asked Starfire confused by her actions.

"No. She was a self righteous, selfish bitch." spitted the vampire.

"You didn't even meet her in person." objected Mika with indignation.

"I didn't have to." retorted Caroline.

"Caro is just jealous." clarified Mika to the Titans.

"So your hostility towards me is not really because you don't like me; you are like that with anyone that dates Mika…" surmised the demoness before adding "and here I thought I was special."

"She selfishly abandoned Mika and it crushed her. You shouldn't like her either." argued Caro crossing her arms over her chest.

"She also made me the person I am now." Mika added as she placed the picture back where it was, almost at the top of the altar. She looked at it pensively and with reverie. "Samantha was sweet and compassionate… she was even a vegetarian."

"How did she die dude?" asked Gar as he stared at her picture as well. He had to admit she was really pretty and found it sad that someone like that had passed on.

The vampire turned to look at him and then at the rest of the Titans before finally replying: "I killed her…"

Their stunned expressions were quickly shaken by Nightwing's outraged comeback "Ok, seriously!? Your sudden honesty is bordering on brazen."

"Calm down Dick." pleaded Raven as she turned to look at her girlfriend with imploring eyes. "Maybe you should explain better, babe."

"Sorry…" sheepishly replied the vampire before inhaling as she continued her explanation: "I turned her into a vampire to be with her for all eternity…But that sort of thing only works in movies with shiny vampires. The blood it… changes us. And she would rather walk into the sun than become a monster. She committed suicide."

Richard Grayson's demeanor immediately changed; he looked slightly uncomfortable now.

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

Mika tried to smile kindly at his apology but failed miserably. "Anyway… she was the last person I ever took the life from."

"That's why you are vegan then?" guessed Gar joining the dots about Mika's behavior.

"Yes…" assured the vampire. Then she turned to look at her sister with a scowl as she added: "And that's why she deserves a place on our altar, even if my sister dear hates her."

"Fine!" Caroline threw her hands up in surrender. "Speaking of red headed bitches… I thought you invited Katherine."

"I did." Mika turned to look at the clock. "She's a workaholic; she's probably at the lab right now."

The vampire took out her telephone and waited a few seconds for her friend to answer.

"Katherine, are you coming?"

Coming where?

"Dia de Muertos, we are making an altar…"

Ah yes, yes, of course I'll be there… I'm just wrapping some things up. I think I got a solution for the formula, you would never believe what I found in Changeling's blood, I think the mitochondrial sequence of his unique DNA could be mixed to create a…

"Ok Katherine, I get it! You are nerding out. I'll go pick you up or you'll never get here. I'll be there in 5 minutes." interrupted Mika as she hung up the phone before the doctor could continue her rant. "I'll go get Katherine, I'll be right back."

"You are going to go out with that makeup?" questioned Raven as she pointed at her face.

"I won't take long, and I will keep to myself so I don't accidentally scare anyone." promised her girlfriend taking her keys and heading out. She stopped at the door before warning her twin. "Sam's picture better still be there when I come back!"

"Whatever!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**November 2nd, 10:15pm - Blood Clinic**

"Can I help you?"

Katherine asked suspiciously as she eyed the stranger standing at her clinic's back door. She had been deep in work when the knocking had pulled her out of her project. She had expected Mika to be standing there; not a shady woman in hoodie and torn jeans.

"Uhmm… are you the doctor… the blood doctor?" asked the stranger meekly. Her big, green eyes and petite freckled nose made her look small in comparison.

She didn't look like much of a threat, but Katherine still refused to open the door for her. "Who wants to know?"

"A friend told me you had like a solution for… our condition… something to help with the… hunger." explained the girl as she whispered the last part and turned nervously to look at each side. Neonates usually did that, it stressed Kath how they failed so miserably at been inconspicuous when they were obviously trying so hard.

"You missed the pickup day. The batch will be ready until next week. Come back then." quickly replied the doctor as she tried to close the door behind her.

The girl placed her booted foot in the doorway to prevent her from closing it completely as she insisted: "Doc, don't you have more? I don't think I'll be able to hold for that long…"

Katherine took one good look at her. She looked like all the other neonates in the city: jumpy, poor, and slightly traumatized. But that was to be expected, considering they were turned into the undead as a part of an evil government experiment.

"Alright, come on in. I don't want the neighbors thinking I'm dealing morphine or something…" Katherine let out an exasperated sigh, before opening the door and pulling her inside. "I'll share with you some of my stash, but only because I don't want the Prince on my back if you frenzy out or screw it up hunting."

Katherine signaled her to wait there near the entrance and then stepped out to another room. She could be heard rummaging among boxes for more of her bottled formula as she grunted under her breath something about hating to cuddle neonates. She didn't take long before returning with a box on her hands and placing it on the stranger's arms.

"Thank you Doc… Is it really what they say it is?"

Katherine raised an eyebrow: "I don't know what they say it is…"

"Artificial… not human, nor animal… violence free." answered the neonate.

"Yes. It is completely synthetic." assured the eldest vampire.

"That sounds so miraculous… almost too good to be true."

"The miracle of science…" mumbled Katherine before eyeing her again. "Who did you said you are? I'd never seen you around…"

"Oh! I'm Janet…" she placed the box on a nearby table, took down her hoodie and extended her hand. "I've just been a few days in town, heard of you and your formula and I just had to see it for myself."

Katherine left her hanging there and just continued her interrogation: "Have you made your presence known to the Prince? I didn't know we had any newcomers…"

"Yes! Of course…" she lowered her hand uncomfortably once she realized the doctor was not going to shake it. "It would be disrespectful not to."

"Right… You chose some interesting days to come for a visit, considering we had a hunter situation recently. Did you run into any trouble?"

"No, no… I've done nothing to attract the hunters' interest." assured the girl as she waved her hands effusively.

"Yeah well, that's what we thought too…" mumbled the doctor remembering last night's events. "Anyway, enjoy your meal."

"Right… so how much do I owe you." the kid took out her wallet waiting for Kath to reply.

"Nothing; the synthetic is free." stated the elder vampire. "Courtesy of the Prince."

"Free? Come on Doc, nothing is really free? You want me to get hooked on this before twisting my arm?" inquired Janet looking at the box with suspicion.

"Think what you want… but if you had tried it you would know you can't really get hooked on it…"

The neonate takes out a bottle and smells it. She flinches a little.

"Is more a matter of conviction." added Katherine noticing her reaction.

"Conviction on what exactly?" wondered the other woman.

"Conviction on whether we are beasts because of what we are, or we are beast because we choose to be."

"Do we really have a choice?"

"That's the whole point of this. You are not an unfortunate victim of what happened to you, if you are in control of what you want to become despise of it." reasoned Kath looking at her straight in the eyes.

"That's very inspirational Doc…" Janet conceded. "You give this pep talk to everyone?"

"No, the Prince usually just scares the shit out of the neonates so they be good boys and girls and drink it…." admitted Katherine with a smirk on her face. "Now if you'll excuse me. I'm very busy."

The girl nodded but before taking back the box she stopped to ask: "Doctor… one last question. Can this really make you quit the real stuff?"

"We are all junkies, craving for our fix. I guess… that will depend on you."

The girl stood there for a few seconds contemplating her words. Katherine usually didn't talk that much with people, but now she understood why Mika had so much trouble trying to make the neonates drink the stuff. Some had encountered other elder vampires that tried to take advantage of them, making them distrustful enough of their intentions. They also were still young enough to not have the regrets they did, so they didn't get the depth of their conviction. They could only hope their influence could prevent these childer from making the unfortunate mistakes their sires did.

Katherine shrugged thinking Mika's influence was rubbing off on her; taking care of the neonates was not why she did what she did, so she decided the girl did not deserve any more of her attention and turned her back to continue working. She heard the other woman grab the box and move to the door. She heard the door open and close unceremoniously. She turned cautiously and noticed she was alone again, so she finally relaxed her stance.

The doctor sat at her chair and turned off her computer. Mika would be arriving at any moment anyway, so she might as well just shut close her eyes and relax for a little bit. She could not shut off her heightened senses though, and even though she heard no sound of footsteps, and there was not a beating heart to follow, she did notice the almost imperceptible, yet distinct, scent of Death that accompanied her kind.

The doctor moved just in time as a stake carefully aimed at her heart impacted the wall behind her and shattered from the impressive strength it was thrown with. She turned and looked at the woman who was again standing in front of her, her body language had changed completely and her gentle eyes now looked at her predatorily.

"I was staked yesterday, I'm in no mood for this right now." warned the elder vampire between gritted teeth.

"So the hunters did come to visit; but instead of stopping your little operation, you stopped them… And here I was starting to think that you actually believed in what you preach, Doc."

"I didn't kill the hunters if that's what you are implying." objected Katherine. "Although considering the circumstances, it would have been entirely their fault."

Her attacker smirked. "Unfortunately for you, when the hunters don't succeed I finish for them."

"You are with the hunters!?" gasped the doctor in bafflement. It was uncommon, but there existed rogue vampires trained by hunters to hunt others like them.

"Oh no, I'm not WITH the hunters in the way of them knowing am kind of on their side. I'm more of a freelancer." joked the rogue vampire. "But they are a nice cover up so my presence doesn't get noticed."

"It must be a bummer for you to lose your little pet monsters then." sassed Katherine as she grabbed a scalpel from her work table.

The rogue grinned bemusedly as she analyzed each of Katherine's movements. The doctor in turn tried to remain calm and focus all her senses into anticipating her next move. She dared not run, for even though all vampires were gifted with above average strength, speed and resistance, she was not a physically inclined person and she would surely get staked in the back... again.

"If you were staked, that means somebody else stopped the hunters. Was it the Prince and its guard dogs then?"

"It is the Prince's job to protect the domain and its people."

"Its people?" smirked the rogue. "You make it sound as if the Prince had been protecting law abiding citizens instead of monsters."

"The only monster I see is standing right in front of me…" and she did. By heightening even further her senses she could now see the rogue's aura. It was tainted with blood… vampire blood. She was standing in front of a cannibal. If it came down to a physical confrontation, she was surely going to get eaten.

Katherine concentrated her blood potency to fuel her vampiric gifts. Her mind began working at inhuman speed and multiple scenarios flashed in front of her eyes. She recognized immediately the physical advantage her opponent had over her; and unfortunately any attempt at defending from her would only result in her defeat. She could only try and stall as much as she could for Mika to arrive, and hopefully do something. "Didn't you do your homework rogue? We are vegan here!"

"Doc, you really expect me to believe all the bullshit you told me?"

"I don't expect a cannibal to understand the depth of my convictions." spitted back in a challenge.

The cannibal smirked and Katherine stared back until what appeared to be a shadow of recognition and pity dawned on the other vampire's face.

"You really believe all you've told me, don't you?" acknowledged the rogue.

"Even before my formula was ready, I was already a pacifist. I've not hunted in decades." affirmed the doctor in a quiet and calm voice. "Want to know why?"

"Whatever reason you have will not change the outcome of this encounter doctor. I would have expected you to know so considering you are one of the seers… aren't ya?" Katherine clenched her jaw but didn't answer back, only confirming what the rogue suspected, so she continued explaining her reasoning. "I've hunted all types of vampires, and when you do, you start to notice a pattern. If you were a Therian like me we would already be tumbling on the ground trying to rip each other out. If you were a Seiren you would have already tried to charm your way out of it. So all that is left is an Oramatistis, those are actually the most interesting types. Usually their intellects make it impossible for me to even get near them; and the few I do usually go down quietly, for they have foreseen their final deaths by my hand. Your lame attempt at reasoning out of getting eaten is new, kind of cute although unfruitful… unless… unless you are stalling…"

"You really think the Prince would leave alone the only person capable of helping achieve the next step in our evolution?" bragged Katherine as she stood straight and proud.

"You have too much faith in the Prince. Don't you see the Prince is most likely just taking advantage of you noble intentions to exercise some sort of sick control game?"

"If you knew her, you would realize she is not like that."

"I've been to dozens of cities and all Princes are the same!" barked the rogue vampire. "Egoistical, sociopathic, megalomaniacs!"

The cannibal finally attacked. Katherine's senses helped her see the attack before it came, but her muscles didn't respond fast enough to actually do anything about it. After all, fighting did not come natural to her kind. Soon she found herself with the back on the floor and a rogue vampire holding her down by the neck.

"I would have expected more resistance from an older vampire like you. I guess your food is lacking its vitamins… You might just stop struggling; I'm obviously stronger."

Katherine knew she was right. Her mind felt cloudy, clumsy even, at least by her standards. She tried to summon the potency of her blood to throw her away with the power of her mind, but she couldn't. She had not realized until now that her vampiric abilities could not be fueled by the synthetic blood. She felt her Beast recoil at this realization.

So before she felt her control slip from her and the Beast could take over, the doctor yelled trying once more to delay her attacker. "What the fuck do you want from me anyway!? I get why the hunters would want to kill me. But you are like me, why do you want to stop us from evolving?"

"We cannot evolve Doc, we are dead. We are monsters. Pretending otherwise only places other people in danger. You naïve idealism is dangerous. If you really want to help others, you would also side with the hunters."

"You are insane!"

"No doctor… I am a junkie, like all of us. And I need my fix… you will do nicely."

Before the rogue could sink her fangs into Katherine, they were showered with window shards as Mika came crashing through it. She tackled her friend's attacker and struggled a few seconds with her on the ground.

"Be careful! She's a fucking cannibal!"

The Prince managed to hold her down by the neck with her cyborg hand. She was about to slash her with her right claw when all the sudden she stopped in her attack.

"Sam…?" faintly whispered Mika.

The cannibal looked back at Mika with confusion on her face. She tried to look past the skeleton makeup on the other vampire, but just when she seemed to be about to make a connection, Katherine approached on her side and successfully plunged a scalpel under the rogue's ribs. She backed up hissing and ran off leaving them both panting at the clinic.

Katherine turned to look at Mika confused and outraged. "What the fuck! Why didn't you finish her? Why did you let her run off?"

The Prince just stood there dumbfounded. She heard her friend's voice eco somewhere in the distance, but it all felt surreal. Her head was spinning. There was a pressure in her chest she had not felt in a while; as if she was lacking oxygen although she knew she no longer needed it.

"Mika? Are you listening? Mika!?"

The vampire Prince collapsed on the clinic's floor. Everything faded to black for her…

...

_To be continued... _


	5. Chapter 5: Emotional Roller Coaster

Author's Notes: Just when I thought this was going to be a small, light hearted fanfic of barely 3 chapters for the halloween season...

Please let me know what you think of it, and if you would like me to add something you think its missing before the final chapter comes up.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Emotional Roller Coaster**

**November 2nd, 10:12pm**

Raven was anxious. Behind her immutable façade she was on the brink of an emotional breakdown.

All this past months she had worried about Mika: She had worried about what it meant that she was no longer able to empathically feel her. She was worried about the frail state of their relationship ever since she slept with Eris. She worried about all the secrets she knew Mika was still keeping from her in regard of her vampiric existence. She worried even about the loss of her hand and how that affected the vampire's psyche, even though Mika always said she was fine about that. And then she worried about the psychos trying to exterminate her and all the other supernaturals in the city.

After the hunters had been captured and Mika had opened up about her past and what had happened to her, she thought maybe she could finally relax. But things never seemed to be easy with them…

"So she just passed out?"

"Yes…" affirmed Katherine staring at the unconscious Prince.

Raven, Caroline and Katherine watched over Mika, who lay at the infirmary in Titan's Tower. Raven carefully removed the skeleton makeup on her face. She was about to question the doctor further when Caroline interrupted.

"Why? Did she get hurt?" worried the twin quickly scanning her sister. "I don't see any wounds on her."

"The rogue didn't hurt her. Mika was actually about to strike her when she just… stopped…"

"That doesn't make any sense Katherine! We are not human, we don't just faint!" snapped the other vampire. Whenever Mika got hurt her sister would lash at anyone in the vicinity; she knew it was only a matter of time before the Titan got blamed for something. Raven believed it was her way of coping with fear but it still got her on edge. She and Caroline didn't have the best of relationships; in honesty they were only civil with each other for Mika's sake.

"Maybe she used a power on her. Some sort of mind control." suggested the empath, drawing attention away from the irritable twin and on the matter at hand.

"No, she didn't. She couldn't." replied Katherine with certainty.

"We have seen Caroline alter memories and I know she has some sort of mind control." added the Titan eyeing the vampire. Out of the three of them, Caro seemed to be the only one that could do that, and that only furthered her discomfort around her girlfriend's twin.

"Yes, but the rogue was a therian like Mika. Therian's don't do mind control." explained the doctor, believing that would be enough explanation.

Raven frowned and continued questioning: "A therian?"

"That's her vampire bloodline…" when Kath realized the Titan had no idea what she was talking about, she continued with her explanation. "It's what determines our abilities and vampiric gifts."

"I am from a different bloodline than my sister." added the twin. "My abilities make me a different type of predator."

"Mika is more adept at hunting like an animal would: stalking, chasing after them, using strength to subdue them… while Caro is more skilled at hunting at a social setting: manipulating, seducing and using her charisma… like a vampire." confided the vampire doctor. She was a bit surprised Raven didn't know this.

"She never mentioned that before…" admitted the empath. She turned to look at Mika pensively; there was still so much she didn't know and for a brief moment a flicker of doubt invaded her and made her wonder if she truly would ever get to know her.

"Mika would have never mentioned that before because she is not comfortable with those classifications of our kind." reassured Caroline interrupting Raven's pessimist train of thought. She kept explaining trying to make the Titan see her sister's point of view on the matter: "Therians are stereotyped as savages. They are usually employed by other bloodlines as war dogs, bodyguards or hunters."

"Mika once mentioned she used to be a werewolf hunter…" remembered the empath.

"Yes… their abilities are mostly physical and they are usually very in touch with their Beast, which makes them ideal for those endeavors." added Katherine.

"Bloodline segregation is an archaic form of control. Sires telling their childes how they must behave, how they must hunt, and what is expected of them. Mika is completely against that, she would never identify herself as a Therian." concluded Caroline with certainty.

"Our little rogue did identify herself as such though… seemed to be under the impression that she could be nothing more than a beast." added Katherine.

They remained in silence for a minute as Raven finished cleaning Mika's face. Once she was done and had somehow assimilated this new information, she turned around to look at the doctor to keep questioning: "Did you see where the rogue ran to?"

"No. I was too busy freaking out and trying to carry Mika to the car to get the fuck out of there."

"Why didn't you take her to her apartment? It was closer and we were all there for the Day of the Dead celebration." noted Raven.

"I didn't know if the rogue was still roaming around. I didn't want to lead her to Mika's and Caroline's heaven… Titan Tower would be the safest place." reasoned the vampire. "Which reminds me, where is everyone else?"

"There was an emergency…" casually explained the Titan. When Katherine looked at her as asking why she was there then, she continued: "Considering someone just tried to murder our friend, and my girlfriend passed out, I was excused to come and deal with this."

"Friend?"

"Deal with this?"

Katherine and Caroline asked simultaneously looking at Raven perplexed. The Titan slightly smiled at this before replying.

"Yes Katherine, we actually consider you our friend. And on the matter of our little rogue, the Titans have allowed the vampires to deal with their affairs before, but I'm not risking my girlfriend to a vampire serial killer."

"And what exactly would you do if you find her?" questioned the twin suspiciously as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"We can't allow you to take her to jail. It's too risky for the rest of us." concluded the doctor in similar expression to her fellow vampire.

Raven sighed. "I'm afraid to ask what vampires do when they deal with their outlaws."

"You know what we would have to do..." implied Caroline. "The question is: would you stop us from giving her final death?"

"I'm not comfortable with it… but I understand why it would have to be done." conceded the Titan. "I might have to lie to the others though, especially Nightwing."

"How long will the other Titans be gone?"

"We had an emergency call requesting back up from Titan's East." explained Raven. "They might be gone for a few days..."

"Well, that gives us some time." Caro conceded.

"Ok so, with that out of the way…" Raven got in business mode, if she was going to hunt and put down a rabid vampire, she better start now. "Tell us about your attacker, Katherine."

"She looked like a neonate: insecure, rumpled, poor, a bit paranoid… it was an act though." recalled the doctor. "Once she stopped pretending, she demonstrated a vast knowledge on the different vampire bloodlines and her body language completely shifted, very Jekyll and Hyde. She no longer pretended to breath or any of the other human reflexes neonates still retain. If I had to guess, she is probably about my age."

"Which is?" inquired Raven.

"Around 4 decades old as a vampire…" admitted Katherine.

"That would make you a lot younger than Mika and Caro." Raven pointed out. Katherine acted so much mature compared to the twins she had figured she was the eldest. But then again, that would explain why the doctor hadn't disputed the mantle of Prince. And even though she was a smart ass about it, she would always yield to Mika's wishes.

"Yes… I died at an older age as a human though, that's why I wasn't stuck looking like jailbait." sassed Katherine as she pretended not to notice Caroline's death glare.

"What did she look like physically?" continued Raven preventing the twin from snapping back.

"Not too tall, probably your height." described the vampire pointing at Raven. "Natural redhead, kinda like me… small, freckled nose…. She told me her name was Janet, but Mika called her Sam."

"SAAAAAMMMMMMMM!?"

Both Raven and Caroline yelped the name making Katherine flinch in surprise before she dare ask: "Does that mean something?"

"It would only explain why Mika stopped and suddenly passed out!" Caro took out her cell phone and zoomed on a picture at the altar. "Did she look like her?"

Katherine seemed perplexed by the reaction at first, but then turned her attention to what the twin was showing her. "She didn't look like her, she was her. This is the woman that attacked me. Who is she?"

"Are you sure?" insisted Raven trying to make sense of this new information.

"Yes!"

Raven and Caroline looked at each other and then back at Katherine frowning.

"Seriously guys, who is she?" now Katherine was getting anxious as well. She didn't understand what was happening.

"She is my childe…" was finally heard from behind them. Mika had woken up while they had been distracted.

Raven immediately ran to her side. "Baby, how are you feeling?"

"You just called me baby in front of others again… do I look that bad?" sheepishly asked the Prince.

"Can you blame her? You got us worried." answered her twin taking her other side. "What happened?"

"I… when I saw her my mind just went blank." quavered Mika looking at no one in particular. She looked lost and confused.

"I thought she was dead… I mean, like dead, dead… or so I heard" muttered Katherine as she recalled previous conversations.

"She is, or she was… I mean, she was supposed to be…" whimpered the heartbroken Prince of Vampires. "You saw her right? I was not imagining things…"

"Yes, I saw her." replied Kath gently.

Raven though she might be imagining things, but she thought she saw a flicker of pain in the vampire's features as she answered. She had never seen the doctor be nice or gentle to anyone. She knew she and Mika were friends; Caro even claimed best friends, although Mika would always deny it saying they just got along fine. Yet, her girlfriend had exposed herself to an attack by refusing to let Katherine alone in her deliveries, and she had gone to pick her up for their festivity. The doctor didn't really look like Sam except perhaps on the fact they were both redheads… and well vegetarian, considering she was sticking to a synthetic blood diet. She wondered if Katherine reminded Mika of her ex.

"I don't get it." Mika broke the silence. "I saw her, walking to the sunrise."

"Mika, did you saw her burn to dust?" questioned the doctor still carefully measuring her words and tone.

"Yes!" quickly answered the brunette. But then as she tried to recall that image she meekly corrected herself. "Well, no… I mean… the sun was coming up. I instinctually dug myself into the ground to protect myself."

"She is your childe… could she have done the same?" Raven joined the conversation, fearing they would not like the answer.

"I… I don't know, she was so young for that… and she wanted to die! She left me a note!" argued her lover trying to come to terms with what she remembered from that night, until she finally conceded: "But I guess she could have dug herself underground… instinctually like me."

"Are you sure it was her?" Raven still kept the hope this person might just be a doppelganger and her girlfriend's ex was not really back from the dead. "It's been more than 4 decades since then. Why is it the first time you know of her in all that time?"

"I guess she could have fallen into torpor from the sun exposure wounds while underground, until… I don't know someone for some unholy reason spilled blood on her burial site and she could raise again." explained Mika trying to make sense of the situation.

"Even if that were the case, why didn't she go looking for you, for her sire? She obviously has experience hunting; so she's been awake for a few decades now." Kath wondered.

"Maybe she woke up when my sister went MIA." replied Caroline coldly. "She probably thought she was dead… just like the rest of us…"

Mika turned to look at the floor as she meekly tried to apologize. "Caro… I'm sorry about that…"

"Are you, really?" hissed her twin with evident indignation. "I mean, you even got yourself a new girlfriend while you were hiding here in Jump City."

"Caro, your sister is still in shock. You really think right now is the time to bring that up?" defended Raven, even though she never really understood that part of their personal history. When she had asked her lover why she had left her home in Las Vegas, Mika had only answered she just wanted some space for herself; which really didn't explain why she disappeared from everyone's radar. The Titan figured maybe she wasn't that close to her twin, yet at the first opportunity she went back to sharing an apartment with her sister.

"I think it's the perfect time!" emphasized Caroline staring to pace around like a caged animal. "I mean, the reason she suddenly disappeared was out of heartbreak because of that little bitch. Ain't that right?"

"That wasn't…" Mika looked uncomfortable, although slightly pissed. She also stood up from where she had been sitting at the infirmary bed and walked to her sister and practically begged. "Can we talk about it later? At a better time?"

"And when will that time be?" objected Caroline slightly distraught. "I just need to understand why did you run off? Why didn't you say anything in all that time!? Why did you abandon me!?"

"Because you kept expecting me to be alright!" Mika barked finally losing her patience like Raven had seen lately. "You kept expecting me to be my old self! I left because I could no longer bear to see the way you looked at me, the same way everyone looked at me: like a complete and total disappointment!"

Caroline stood straight and slightly perplexed. She had not expected that answer. "I… I've never seen you as a disappointment…"

"Don't you think I know what was said behind my back?" quickly countered her sister. "Oh look, there goes the great hunter! I've heard she's gone soft now. I heard she had her fangs cut off."

"I know what was said behind your back, and I always stood up for you!"

"Yes… and then you would go and try to make me vamp up. You just kept pushing me to hunt, even though I could no longer will myself to do so." accused the now enraged Prince. "You were so ashamed of me; you would just hide me away and pretend I was off fighting werewolves or whatnot."

"I was not ashamed of you… I was trying to protect you, and maybe salvage some of your reputation…" acknowledged her sister suddenly looking small and shy "…but obviously that's not what you wanted or needed… I'm sorry if you felt that I was embarrassed of you…"

An uncomfortable silence fell on the room. Raven and Katherine pretended to look elsewhere so the twins would be a little less ashamed. Caroline had the bad habit of putting her sister against the wall in front of other people and that would result in uncomfortable very public fights. At least the rest of the Titans were not here to add to the vampire's mortification.

"I'm sorry I got you so worried…" apologized Mika in a barely audible tone.

"You could have at least let me know you were alright…"

"You would have dragged me back home…" alleged her sister. "I might have been alone for many years, but at least I could be me."

That last comment seemed to have flared up the twin's indignation once more. "You see that's the thing, you were not like that before!"

"Well maybe that was the new Me!" shrilled Mika in response. "The Me that watched in horror as my lover walked into the sunrise…"

Mika stared off into the distance with a blank expression, suddenly forgetting about her sister and the others around her. Raven approached her girlfriend and made her turn to look at her. As soon as their eyes made contact a lone, bloody tear escaped her lover's eyes. Raven immediately embraced her and the vampire collapsed on her shoulder.

"Oh my God…" sobbed the broken vampire still holding her girlfriend tightly "She walked into the sunrise and then I left her buried for years... my poor Sam…"

Caroline's rage had finally subsided at seeing the heartbroken state of her sister. She approached Katherine and took her to the side, as she questioned her once again: "Are you sure that was Sam? Mika's childe?"

"She was the woman in the picture, yes." assured Katherine for the umpteen time.

Mika finally calmed down enough to release the tight hold she had on Raven. The Titan took her by the hand and made her sit at the bed again as she cleaned her bloodied tearstained face. Raven then cleaned her own neck and shoulder as it was probably stained as well, and she didn't want the other two present vampires to get any funny ideas. She knew they were consciously trying to ignore them both, but she also knew they could easily smell the coopery stench of blood.

"Well, since she is really not dead, dead." Caroline broke the silence once more. "What are we going to do about the little cannibal loose on the domain."

"Cannibal?" blurted Mika surprised. "What cannibal?"

"Well, Sam… Why do you think she attacked me?" explained Kath to the baffled Prince. "She said she was following the hunters, she picks up those they leave behind… she is a cannibal."

"No! No, that's not possible. Her being alive, well, undead, that's one thing! Her being a cannibal… That's insane!" objected Mikaela standing up again to confront her friend.

"Mika she tried to eat me! Why the fuck would I lie about that!" defended the doctor. "And her aura was stained with vampire blood all over!"

"Her aura? You read auras?" questioned Raven as that information caught her interest.

"What of it?"

"You don't seem like an aura reader kind of person. I thought you were more on scientific facts."

"We all radiate energy; there is a very scientific explanation behind auras…" Katherine muttered looking self conscious about it. Caroline usually flaunted her abilities arrogantly, but Katherine seemed sheepish about them, even a little more than Mika. Raven made a mental note to dig more unto that once they took care of this problem, before Katherine continued. "Anyway that's not the main point here."

"Right, the point is she is back, she is a cannibal, and she is loose on our domain…" Caro stated the facts plainly, hoping no one would argue on that, but of course, her sister was not willing to accept that just yet.

"No! She cannot be a cannibal!" grumbled the twin pacing like a caged animal. "She tried to commit suicide because she did not want to feed from humans!"

"So she began eating vampires when she woke up?" pondered the doctor considering the possibility of it.

"It could happen… our blood is particularly addictive." observed Caroline. "Although how she came to get hooked on it it's a whole different story."

"NO!" Mika hit the wall with her cybernetic fist so hard it dented. Had it not been that the tower's walls were reinforced, she would have gone all the way through.

"Mika, please try to calm down…" begged Raven fearing for her mental state. It was killing her to know that she could not empathically reach her and help her through this. It was one of those times were she just hated feeling human and having to deal with stuff just like regular people do.

"She was a vegetarian…" insisted the vampire collapsing on a chair. "Could it really have been that awful what I did to her, that all she can eat now is other monsters like me?"

"You can't blame yourself for that…" comforted her sister kneeling in front of her as she took her hands in hers. "We don't really know that's what happened to her; maybe she was forced into it... I've heard stories of that. You know from that crazy sect that claims we are beasts. I've heard it happen."

"Guessing what happened to her is not really helping us determine what we should do with her." sassed the doctor.

"At least I'm trying to comfort my sister…" Caroline stood up quickly to face the other vamp and seemed short of shoving Katherine to a wall. "And shouldn't you have seen it coming!?"

"So almost getting eaten it's my fault now!?" countered the doctor standing her ground as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared her down in defiance.

"You are the one with premonitions!" sneered the twin close enough to the other vampire that Raven feared this confrontation was going to get physical. Luckily that last comment made the other take a step back.

"You make it sound as if I were a psychic." replied the vampire uncomfortably as she turned her back on them. "I do have advanced deduction skills that some people might interpret as Clairvoyance…"

"And you couldn't deduce that she was there to kill you!?" Caroline kept pushing taking advantage of her apparent win.

"No… I…" Katherine nervously played with her hair and began fidgeting on her place. "I just discovered that… well apparently my synthetic formula cannot fuel my vampiric gifts."

"WHHHAAAAATTTT!?"

"You mean you lost your powers!?" worried Mika approaching them to take part in the conversation.

"I didn't lose them…" She turns to look at the table and telepathically lifts a pencil that was there before throwing it at Caroline, getting a frown from the twin. "They are just dormant… or numb, I don't know…"

"And you also have telepathy. You just keep getting more and more interesting…" commented Raven casually before remembering. "Didn't you drink some blood from Gar yesterday?"

"Yes, I suppose that's why I can lift at least that much."

"And you didn't notice before that your powers were getting numb?" questioned Mika trying to come to terms with what that meant.

"No, I don't go around reading other people's auras or trying to push them away with my mind."

"But you still have extremely acute senses and supernatural strength." observed the Prince. "I saw it yesterday with the hunters."

"Yes, my formula is not the best yet in regards of taste, so I've also been getting transfusions…" replied the doctor. "I guess that's why I didn't notice before… I just thought I was gaining better control of my powers with age."

"Orimatistis don't gain control over their powers with age… they get crazy." taunted Caroline earning a scowl from her sister.

"I don't know why you would think that… I mean, only because my advanced cognitive functions and extra sensorial hypersensitivity might result in a few mental derangements?" quipped the offended vampire making Raven look at her with wide open eyes. "Yeah I guess that's why it only took almost getting eaten for me to miss it."

The Titan finally understood why Katherine got defensive when talking about her powers. She could relate, after all, she had dealt with feeling everyone's emotions all her life, and that had resulted in a compartmentalized personality and a constant chatter inside her head.

"Kath, did she… did she really had the cannibal marks in her aura?" asked Mika. Her voice was weak, barely above a whisper, fearing the answer she already knew.

"Yes…" replied her friend looking back at her with sympathy. "What do you want us to do about it?"

Mika remained silent, probably looking for answers she knew she was not going to like. Raven knew her girlfriend was probably torn between what she felt and what she knew had to be done; she was the Prince of Jump's vampires after all. She was about to offer herself to deal with everything so they would be safe, when Caroline beat her to it.

"You don't have to do anything… I'll go after her. I'll track her down and deal with the cannibal. That way Mika won't have to face her again, you won't risk yourself getting eaten and Raven won't have to lie about her involvement to the other Titans." concluded Caroline with determination.

"No." quickly answered her sister, looking back at her as if she had lost her mind.

"She is dangerous. If you had not gotten there on time, she would have devoured Katherine. I'll go and stop her."

"Caroline, no offense, but how are you going to hunt down a cannibal?" sassed Kath looking at the twin as if she had grown two heads. "She has experience hunting other vampires. You would need a hunting party, and we rule over a city of spineless, and well thanks to us, powerless neonates."

"I'm stronger than I look; after all, I'm the only one that actually hunts in this city. I don't need the spineless neonates help, thank you very much." argued Caroline standing up and heading for the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I got a cannibal to catch."

"No." ordered Mikaela. "As the Prince I forbid it."

Her sister huffed at the attitude and turned around. She put on a condescending smile as if she were about to explain to a small child "Mika, she is dangerous."

"I know, I don't need you to patronize me." whined the Prince. She stood taller and as she took a deep breath she added: "She is also my childe… I'll do it."

"You are in no condition to face her." remarked her sister.

"It is my responsibility as her sire… and my right as the Prince."

Raven grabbed Mika by the shoulders and made her turn to face her. Worry was evident in her eyes.

"It's ok." reassured the vampire. "I overpowered her when I was at the lab. I can manage her."

"At least let me go with you." pleaded the Titan. "I won't interfere, unless I have to."

Mika nodded her consent. She actually felt better knowing she would not be alone in this.

"How are you even able to tap into your powers? You only drink synthetic…" noticed her sister. "Right?"

"I…"

Mika doubted for too long, that it actually made Raven wonder: "You've been cheating?"

"What!? No!" squeaked her girlfriend mortified. "I mean, not exactly…"

The demoness raised her eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "Explain…"

"You know I haven't Rae." assured Mika. "I've only been… indulging in chocolate…"

"Oh!" Raven finally understood where her girlfriend was going and blushed furiously. "Of course…"

Katherine and Caroline turned to look at each other with identical expressions on their faces.

"Is chocolate a code word for some kinky vampire thing you two got going on?" asked the most extroverted twin.

"Is just… she's been giving me some love bites." Raven mumbled embarrassed. They more than anyone understood how erotic that was, and the empath was not comfortable talking about that part her intimacy.

"Oh." Caroline actually seemed uncomfortable with that information; probably because it involved her sister. So she quickly turned to address her twin: "And that's enough for you to have full access to your powers?"

"Raven's half demonic blood packs quite the punch. I guess is enough to have my beast satisfied." Everyone nodded at that and remained silent, so Mika continued. "Well then, that settles it… I'll go deal with her."

Mika looked as if she was going to be sick just thinking about it, so Raven grabbed her hand trying to reassure her it was all going to be fine; and before anyone could even move Katherine pointed out something important.

"How are you even going to find her?"

Mika considered the question for a few seconds before replying a bit doubtful. "It's been a while, but I guess I could track her. I used to track and hunt werewolves before."

"Tracking werewolves and tracking vampires is not the same. And she is used to the hunt; I will guess she is very capable of covering her tracks even from more experienced therians like you." remarked the doctor with seriousness.

"Don´t call me a therian…" objected the brunette scowling.

"If you are going to act like one; you might as well own it." chided her friend.

"Well, you are the Oramatistis, the intellectual… yet I don't hear you coming up with a plan." grumbled the unhappy Prince.

"Maybe we could summon her…" interrupted Caroline before their little dispute could escalate. "She is Mika's childe; I might be able to call to her through our bond with the Seiren's call."

"Siren's call?" wondered Raven as she turned to look at the twin.

"Seiren." corrected Caroline. "But I guess it's the same… it's one of the powers of my bloodline. I'll go with you."

"It's worth the shot." conceded Mika. She lied though, she knew it was a long shot considering Caroline had never really summoned anyone that she knew of before, least of all someone she had never met, but she also knew it was her way of tagging along to make sure she was fine. Even after all their disagreements and disputes over the decades, they still cared deeply for each other.

"I'll prepare a ritual to track her in case that doesn't work." added Katherine offhandedly.

Raven was surprised by this. The doctor had really freaked out about almost getting eaten, yet here she was inviting herself to their little hunting party, even though she had no real usable powers at the moment. Either she was a really good friend, or she had some deeper feelings for her lover. But before suspicion could spark in her, she shoved those thoughts aside and asked: "Ritual?"

"You really should explain to her our different bloodlines once this is over…" suggested Katherine to the Prince in mild annoyance. "I'll go prepare everything…"

"Is it a good idea that you leave the Tower?" asked Raven stopping her as she walked to the door.

"Oh I'm not planning to go anywhere… I know where you keep your supplies." smirked the red head mischievously. "Come on Caroline. Let's go…"

"What do you need me for?"

"I don't need you for anything. But Raven wants us to leave to have a heart to hear with Mika." replied the other vampire shoving her out the door.

"I thought you didn't have your advanced deduction powers." whined the twin as she was been dragged outside.

"It's not a power; it's called common sense."

The door soon closed behind them and they were left alone. Raven and Mika turned to look at each other nervously unsure of what to say now.

"So… we are hunting down my ex…"

Raven sighed loudly. Oh Azar, was this going to be an emotional rollercoaster…

...

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6: Dream On

**Chapter 6: Dream on**

Sorry for the long wait, this story has proven more challenging and time consuming than I though... Hope you enjoy it though...

* * *

**November 2nd, 10:49pm**

"Do you love her?"

Raven could not help herself from blurting out the question her emoticlones had been nagging in her mind ever since the realization of Sam's current undead state.

"Is that a trick question?" snickered Mika in a meek attempt at humor. Her fake smile lasted shortly though. For a moment she seemed lost in her own thoughts before continuing. "I used to dream about her and that last night I ever saw, like her all the time. Sometimes the scenery would change, instead of the nevada desert, I would be running up to the border of a clift or on the snow to a frozen lake… sometimes I would reach her, but most times I did not... Sometimes I still dream about her… What I'm saying is: you don't stop loving someone just because they die… do you?"

"I guess not…" conceded the Titan. She had never really expected Mika to shove away her feelings for the redhead. Besides, she always talked so fondly of her, and seemed to have made a positive change in the brunette that made it possible for them to be together nowadays. But then again, she had not expected that she would come back from the dead either. "What happens now that you know she is not dead, dead?"

"I don't know…" admitted the vampire.

"I never felt jealous of her before, because she was no longer around…"

"And now you do?"

"I don't know." admitted Raven. She stood up from the infirmary bed she had been sharing with her lover. She looked lost for words and she just manage to ask: "Should I?"

"Raven, this doesn't change my feelings for you." reassured Mika, following after her girlfriend. She took her lover's hands into hers. Chocolate brown eyes locked with violet ones as she continued: "The person I used to love… well that person is gone, I killed her. I don't really know the beast that is walking around with my ex-lover's face. But even if the Samantha I knew were back, right now I am with you. There is no one I would rather be with."

"Really?"

Raven almost whimpered under her breath. All the fears she had been locking inside the furthest, darkest, hole in Nevermore came rushing to the surface at that moment.

"Look, I know I have not been easy to be around with lately… What happened last year, it was hard on our relationship. It was hard on me." confessed the vampire mirroring Raven's pained expression at that admission. The empath was about to reply but Mika prevented her from doing so and continued. "You don't have to apologize for that. I don't resent you for breaking up with me under those circumstances and, you know, trying to move on... I have much to blame for that. It pains and ashames me to remember it, but I still love you... with all my unbeating, cold and dead heart."

The Titan faintly smiled at the last comment. It was cheesy and sarcastic at the same time, and it made her feel better because it was everything she loved about Mika.

"I guess we both carry a lot of guilt regarding last year's incident."

Raven hugged her tightly. One of those hugs that felt like it could glue the broken pieces of her heart back in place if it only lasted a little bit longer.

Once they separated, the Titan lowered her eyes to the ground, but Mika gently grabbed her chin and made her look at her in the eyes. Her worried expression made the demoness take the courage to open herself.

"I've been so afraid and confused lately. I don't understand why I can no longer feel your emotions and it terrifies me. I am so used to feeling everyone, and the emptiness I feel from you sometimes makes me wonder if perhaps is because you no longer feel anything for me…" This time it was Raven's turn to stop Mika from replying. "I know it's stupid to think that. You show me how much you love me all the time. I can only hope that I've been doing at least half as good showing you how much I love you."

This time the vampire didn't answer with words. She grabbed her girlfriend's hips and pressed her body as much as possible against hers as she kissed her deeply. Their mouths immediately opened as in reflex and their tongues caressed each other until the gentle touches became more needy and they began fighting for dominance.

Raven had to contain the urge to overpower the vampire and throw her in bed. She knew it was not the time and her girlfriend needed something else from her tonight. So she slightly separated from the vampire despise the protests, and presented her neck to the vampire.

Mika stared at the pulsing point under her jaw; her chocolate eyes got a crimson spark in them and she had to shake her head to be able to pull her sight from there and look at her girlfriend's eyes. Raven nodded and the vampire elongated her fangs. The demoness closed her eyes as she awaited her lover's kiss, but instead of the wild, feral bite she expected, she received a sweet kiss, an I love you, and what was probably the gentlest bite she had ever received.

The Titan's entire body shivered. The feeding was slow and sensuous. She was suddenly very aware of her girlfriend, her smell, her touch, she could even sabour the lingering taste of her kisses on her mouth. And for the briefest of moments Raven though she felt all the emotions that Mika was pouring into her before they finally separated.

The empath felt lightheaded, Mika had probably taken more than she was used to. Still, she did not want to worry her so she cleared her throat as she pointed: "We should go look for the others before Katherine completely raids my supplies."

"Yeah…" Mika grew serious for a little while before quipping disheartened: "Let's make haste with killing my ex… again."

Raven grabbed her hand and made her stop on her way to the exit.

"Mika you are a good person. I trust you will always choose to do the right thing… and even when you don't, I still love you..."

The vampire gave her a faint smile, and allowed her lover to led her away to search for the others.

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**November 3rd, 2:03am**

"This is really not working…"

Mika rolled her eyes exasperated at Caroline's whines. Her sister paced around after having given up almost an hour ago.

"Could you be quiet? We are actually trying to do something about our little rogue over here." answered the prince sourly.

They were in the creepy, abandoned junkyard a few blocks away from the clinic. Katherine was balancing a crystal over a map she had on top of an old chevy, in a seemingly vain attempt at locating Mika's childe.

"You already tried that and you picked up nothing, for all we know she's already skipped town." pointed out Caroline, eliciting a scowl from the doctor.

"Why is your tracking spell not working Kath?" interrupted Mika before the other vampires began arguing with each other.

"I am still lacking juice to power it…" explained the redhead somewhat ashamed by it. "And besides, there is no real connection between me and her for it to be perfect."

Raven approached the vampire group when she noticed the rising tension between them. Mika could tell her girlfriend was also restless. The Titan's powers didn't really work on the undead so she had been appointed watch duty. She probably felt useless though, and knew she was really only there for moral support.

"What is wrong? I thought one of you should have succeeded by now."

"It seems we are not powerful enough to pull this off." admitted Katherine closing the book she had been reciting over and dropping the crystal next to the candles and other magic supplies she had burrowed.

"Boy, if anyone wants to invade and take the domain from us we are screwed." sourly muttered Caroline.

Her twin sighed at this but added. "Luckily the big T on the bay discourages any colonizing attempts from the elders."

"You are the most powerful vampires in Jump City, you'll get it... eventually." Raven tried to reason but only got a generalized groan from the vamps. She hated having to be the one giving encouraging speeches, but then again there was nothing she could do besides try to give them a pep talk. "Come on guys, I've seen you pull some impossible feats when you three work together. Zombie invasion and demon apocalypse ring any bells?"

The vampires began paying her attention at this, so Raven continued.

"Garfield would be dead if it were not for Katherine's vaccine, and the city would have been destroyed by vampire zombies were it not for Mika's bravery in Pentex. Dick would be dead if Caroline had not been there with Starfire to stop him when he was hallucinating. And let's not forget we would never even had the chance to stop the apocalypse if it not for the amazing teamwork you guys pulled off." The empath turned to look at her girlfriend with a hopeful smile. "You are not just the prince of vampires and her crew, or whatever you call it… you are heroes... All of you… that's gotta mean something coming from me."

They turned to look at each other uncomfortably, probably unaccustomed at getting those kinds of compliments.

"You are right!" Mika was the first to respond and addressed them with some renewed optimism. "We can pull this off, if we really worked together... like together, together."

Katherine and Caroline turned to look at each other with questioning looks, before the doctor inquired further. "Why did you just repeat like that the last word?"

"Because… I know we will be able to pull this off... if we work thougheter… he we become a Coterie." mumbled Mika under her breath suddenly nervous.

"A coterie?"

"You are right!" seconded Caroline excitedly. "We would be able to tap into each other's abilities!"

"We would also be bonded for life..." paled Katherine as she backed off a few steps.

Mika approached the doctor and tentatively asked. "Would that be so bad?"

"Vampire coteries are archaic and gangly in nature; I'm not comfortable with the whole us against them mentality." Katherine was freaking out and refused to look her in the eyes.

The prince placed her hands on the other vampire's shoulders to make her look at her as she pointed out. "We already act as a coterie most of the time."

"But because we choose to, not because we have to, not because the blood compels us to." interrupted Katherine shoving Mika's hands off her.

"Yes, and we have already chosen to stick for each other even though there is no blood to bind us. Why else would you be here right now?" Mika kept talking as she followed after the redhead who kept backing away from the others. "Neonates already see us as a unit; a three piece package."

"Like McDonalds…" quipped Caroline out of the blue. "I'm the fries, everyone loves fries. Mika's the main burger and you are the very predictable soda that explodes if you shake it."

The comment effectively stopped Katherine who had been retrieving further and further.

"Been a smart ass is really not helping you sell your point…" the doctor snapped back annoyed by the other vampire who just smirked back knowing she had made her stop in her tracks.

"And you would regain your powers without compromising your vegan regime." reasoned Mika as she kept explaining. "The blood bond will make the three of us stronger. A bond between the three different bloodlines is extremely rare; vampires usually distrust others not like them. But it would be our strength and advantage over all others."

Katherine sighed finally uncrossing her arms.

"Fine…" grumbled the doctor ceding to her pleas. Mika smiled widely and seem about to hug the doctor when Katherine stopped her by reminding her: "...but we are going to need a donor."

Raven had remained quiet during the whole exchange, not really grasping what they were talking about. But at the mention of the word donor and the way the three vamps were now looking at her she got goosebumps running up and down her spine.

Mika grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side at that moment.

"Raven, luv… We are going to try a new approach." The Titan didn't answer and just looked back expectantly, so Mika continued explaining. "We are going to make a ritual… to bond our powers and strengthen them, and luckily find Samantha…"

"Ooook…"

"And we need your help… as a donor."

"You already took blood from me tonight." argued Raven.

"Doesn't have to be much blood, it just has to be fresh." assured the vampire. "You just have to place some on a cup, and well, you can heal your wound right?"

"You expect me to cut myself in front of vampires and drop my blood in a cup for your vampiric ritual, where I suppose the 3 of you will be drinking from."

"eeehhh…. yes?"

"Won't that arouse your beasts?" complained the empath. "Are those two going to try and eat me after that?"

"No!" Mika quickly replied. "I mean, sort of… I mean… yes, the beast inside the three of us will most likely be aroused… but we won't try to eat you, I promise."

"I already gave you some of my blood tonight, if I bleed more I'm going to get anemic and won't be able to help much in case this whole thing blows up and they get feral. Or your ex shows up and she gets cannibalistic."

"Ok, ok… you are right. If you don't want to do it I get it." conceded Mika before adding "I guess we'll just have to find someone else..."

"Don't play the guilt card. I do want to help and I don't want you endangering others if I can help it." Raven chastised her girlfriend who looked back at her sheepishly. "I trust you can keep your cool around my blood… I'm just not so sure about them."

"They'll be cool about it too, trust me." assured the vampire. "You are not Caroline's type and Katherine is like a stone around blood, she is a doctor you know."

"Ok… I did say I would help anyway I could."

Mika hugged her tightly at this, before taking her hand and leading them back to the group.

"Ok, we are ready. Whenever you want to start Katherine."

Katherine replied with a scowl. "Why do I have to lead the ritual?"

"Because we have no idea how to do it and you are the oramatistis… that would make you sort of like the priest of the pack." explained the Prince as she grinned back to her.

"Don't call us a pack; coterie is bad enough as it is." grumbled the doctor grabbing a chalice with her left hand and a ritualistic knife on her right.

"Gang?" suggested Caroline.

"That's too anarchist." replied Mika. "Crew?"

"Are we still in the bayou?" sassed her twin.

"Party?"

"Would feel like we are playing DnD." whined Caro. "I know! Family! You can be our youngest sister..."

"Don't make me regret this…" hissed the doctor sending daggers with her eyes to the twins. When they both effectively shut up she turned to Raven. "Did Mika explain what I'm going to do?"

"I suppose you are going to cut me with the big, scary knife in your hand…"

"It won't hurt… much." alleged the vampire. "I mean, you are a superhero; you must be used to bleeding, right?"

The Titan sighed resigned. "Just do what you have to do."

Katherine approached the demoness who in turn extended her hand over the chalice the vampire was holding. The knife made a deep cut in the palm of her hand and red hot blood began flowing freely. Once half the cup was full she signaled Raven to heal her wound and stop the flow of blood.

The Titan felt lightheaded and stumbled a little. Mika immediately stood by her side and helped her sit down a few feet away from them. She then returned and the three vampires stood facing each other in a circle.

Katherine raised the cup above their heads and the others stood in complete silence waiting for the ritual to start.

"ehhmm… I don't remember what I have to say…" admitted the doctor sheepishly.

"I already bled for you Katherine!" retorted the demoness unhappy about it.

"Give me a break, I never thought I would use this ritual"

"The ritual is about compromise and thrust… Can't you improvise with that?" suggested Caroline. "Just follow your… unbeating heart."

"Fuck… ok, just don't mock me if I suddenly start quoting The Craft…" Katherine rose the cup above their heads again and turned to look at one another. The other two nodded in encouragement and she preceded. "Blood… It all begins and ends with blood. For blood is what ripped us from the grip of Death. And is its sweet nectar what awakens us from perpetual slumber every night. Let us share this elixir of life among us… sisters of the night."

She first passed the cup to Mika who gives the cup a little sip before passing it to Caroline and finally to Katherine, who does the same.

"Wow, Raven's blood does have a kick." commented the doctor offhandedly.

"No wonder you are so pussy whipped." coughed Caroline.

Mika glared at them. "Just continue…"

Katherine gave the knife to Mika and approached the chalice to her so she could drop her blood on it. The Prince of Vampires didn't even flinch as she cut her wrist and her blood dropped and mixed with Raven's. The same is repeated with the other two and the stench of blood became palpable in the air around them.

"In this night we share the blood that will bind us as one" Katherine then muttered under her breath, seemingly casting a spell that made the blood glow for a brief second.

"Let us drink sisters. And let the bond only be broken by the scorching rays of sunlight."

This time Katherine was the first to drink and passed the cup until Mika was the last to drink from it.

They looked at each other uncertain after that. The distant murmurs of the night and Raven's breathing were the only sounds as they stood there waiting. Suddenly the blood hit their systems and the cup fell from Mika's hands. The three vampires seemed to be in pain and fell on their knees grabbing their scorching throats and chest.

"Mika!" Raven stood up at the sight of them.

But Mika made a sign for her to stop and stay away as she pleaded: "Stay back!"

Raven watched in horror as their fangs elongated and their hands became claws. Both of the twins covered their ears as if the sounds of the night hurted them. Raven could only guess their powers were mixing and augmenting.

And all of a sudden, it all seemed to stop. They stood on fours as they gasped trying to calm themselves. Their hands and eyes slowly returned to normal and they turned to look around.

"Are you guys alright?" wondered Raven taking a few steps closer.

"Raven, please stay back…" insisted her girlfriend shooing her away with her hand. She then turned to look at the doctor who was composing herself and dusting her pants. "Katherine, do you always hear the pumping of blood so loudly?"

"Do your bones usually feel like they are ripping whenever you transform?" Katherine retorted.

"How do you not rip someone's throat like this?" wondered Caroline in amazement. They all had heightened senses, but Katherine's were beyond what they were accustomed.

"Just give it a few more minutes till the blood settles." assured the doctor. "We will return to normal and won't have to worry about each other's inconveniences…. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Katherine had turned to look around and noticed Raven staring at her with doe eyes. She looked completely lost in the vampire's presence making the doctor blink in confusion.

"I think you have her entranced…" explained Caroline. "You just suddenly became more attractive, you are welcome."

"Your inconveniences seem actually very convenient." noted Kath still estranged by Raven's reaction.

"Try getting a boyfriend like that and not wonder if he's just entranced or actually likes you." replied the twin.

Raven shook her head to get rid of the effect of entrancement, and turned to look around confused as to what had happened. They all looked back at her apologetically. "I'm assuming it worked?"

"Yes." confirmed Mika.

Raven stood there looking at one another, the vampire's seemed uncertain so she ushered them "So what now?"

"We could try Seiren's call to beckon Samantha." suggested Caroline. That particular power of her bloodline was what fueled several legends, from the siren's that lured sailors to their deaths to the image of the seductive vampire like Dracula.

"It's worth the shot." conceded her sister.

"Ok." Caroline clapped her hands to draw their attention. "What tune shall we sing?"

"Wait!" protested Katherine. "You mean we actually have to sing?"

"Yes, it is the first time you two use this power. So singing is the best way to express emotions and desires, and drawing even those who don't want to be summoned." explained Caroline.

The doctor crossed her arms and groaned. "I'm not a good singer."

"You could sing like a banshee and it would still work." smirked the twin apparently amused by the situation.

"What are we supposed to sing anyway?" wondered Mika. "We are not going all frozen and suddenly going to burst into song are we?"

"No. We have to choose a song, something that might call your childe." replied her sister. "Is there any song you associate with Samantha?"

They all turned to look at Mika

"Well… It's kind of an old song... it was the 70s…" mumbled the prince self consciously.

"We were all around back then, try us…" deadpanned the doctor.

"Dream on, maybe..." sheepishly answered Mika.

"From Aerosmith?"

Caroline turned surprised to look at Katherine. "Someone knows her classic rock stars..."

"I was still alive back then…" explained the ginger.

Caroline took out her cellphone and quickly loaded the karaoke version on youtube.

"Ready?"

The 3 nodded and the first notes from the guitar began playing on the device. The soulful melody clinged at their skin, and made their hearts flutter in anticipation. They could feel the power of the blood bond running through their veins.

_Everytime that I look in the mirror…_

Mika's voice shook from emotion as the first lines of the song left her throat to join the voices of her sisters.

_The past is gone. It went by, like dusk to dawn..._

The sorrow in her words was soon mirrored by the other 2 singing along her. The melancholy of an age long past seemed to pull at the strings of their lost humanity. Soon they were singing as one sole soul into the emptiness of the night.

_Everybody's got the dues in life to pay..._

Mika searched in her mind for that one death she could not forget, and yet could not clearly remember. Her mind had replayed the moment so many times in so many different ways in an attempt to drown her in sorrow. Her own pain blinded her from the truth of the horror of her actions.

_You got to lose to know how to win..._

And then she remembered clearly.

_You know it's true, oh. All these feelings come back to you._

It was as if she could hear once again as the last breath abandoned her lips.

_Sing with me, sing for the years._

And her heart strained for the last time.

_Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears._

And the warmth of her skin was replaced by perpetual cold.

_Sing with me, just for today._

And the moment the spark of her eyes was forever gone…

_Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away…_

And the dreaded realization that she had really lost her forever...

_Dream on..._

_Dream on..._

_Dream on…_

_Sing with me, just for today. Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away…_

Tears flowed freely from the vampire's eyes as the song ended. The other two seemed out of breath from holding in the heart clenching emotions written on their faces. Raven approached them and placed a supporting hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. They all looked at each other unsure of what to do next. But didn't had to wait for long as the sound of approaching footsteps startled them.

A small figure appeared from behind the piles of trashed cars.

"Sam? Samy…"

….

_To be continued..._


	7. Chapter 7: Mika's Little Monster

**Chapter 7: Mika's Little Monster**

I know it's been ages... but I'm glad to say: It's finally done! I'll be posting all chapter now.

Please leave your reviews.

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**November 3rd, 2:45am**

Mika quickly wiped the tears from her face and approached the somber figure in the shadows.

"Sam? Is that you?"

"...Mika?" the smaller woman stepped into the clearing and pulled down her hoodie. Her freckled face stared back in confusion. They stood merely inches away from each other and the smaller vampire approached a shaky hand to her sire's face as to confirm that she was real. "You were the one with the skeleton makeup?"

"Yes."

"I knew no one else could have your same chocolate brown eyes..."

Mika leaned into Sam's touch and closed her eyes. The younger vampire was entranced by the gesture, and time seemed to stop for them. Everyone around them disappeared for a few moments as they both took in each other's presence after so long.

Raven's heart clenched at this. She turned her sight away from them, unable to keep looking, until Katherine placed her hand on her shoulder and urged her to look forward.

"After all this years…" Sam took down her hand as she addressed her sire once again. "I thought you were dead."

"I could say the same of you." replied Mika.

"When I woke up, no one had seen you in a decade, not even your own sister." explained the ginger.

"I'm sorry I didn't stick around… your parting affected me."

"Yeah..." Samantha looked over Mika's shoulder to the other's present. "I'm assuming you didn't come to catch up on old times considering you brought back up."

"They helped me reach out to you..." Mika turned slightly to look at her girlfriend and sisters, as they watched expectantly, before turning back to look at Sam with immense sorrow. "Listen, this is not how I would have like this meeting to go, but unfortunately you tried to eat someone I care about."

"I figured as much when you showed up as a knight in shiny armor. You always had a thing for vegan redheads." joked the smaller woman. "For what it's worth, I wouldn't have attacked her if I had known she was your girlfriend."

"Katherine is not my girlfriend…"quickly clarified the brunette. "But I do care about what happens to her."

"Well, if you are worried about your friends, I'll keep my fangs away from them. For old time's sake…" promised her childe as she made a sign of crossing her heart with a lopsided grin.

"Thank you…" Mika took a step closer as the other began to back off. "But I still cannot let you go..."

Samantha kept backing off to put some distance with her sire, she made a grimace as she sourly stated "Still doing the Prince's bidding I see."

Mika had been circling around her, but stopped confused by her words. "…you don't know."

"Know what?" asked Sam.

"I am the Prince."

Samantha stopped moving. She looked Mika up and down as if she was seeing her for the first time. "That's not…"

"Possible? Many things that defy the possible have been happening these last nights." muttered the prince.

"I was going to say not what I expected… but it sort of makes sense now with everything the good doctor said. The way she talked about you..." commented her childe as she recalled her previous conversation with Katherine. "I just never took you for the Prince type."

"But you took me for the guard dog type." smirked Mika somberly.

"I suppose I underestimated your leadership skills." admitted Samantha. "Look, I don't want to hurt you, I'll just go now."

As Mika saw her turn around to walk away, all the pent up rage she had bottled up rapidly spurged to the surface.

"You don't want to hurt me? It's kind of late for that, don't you think." spitted the prince. "Like a few decades late..."

Sam stopped in her tracks and turned back to face her sire. Suddenly all the love she had looked at Mika with was replaced by anger. "So, this is what it's about? You are mad because things didn't go like you had planned and I ended things with you, after you took my life from me? You want to end my existence once and for all because I did not make a good childe!?"

"Regardless of what you think, this is not personal. I don't want to do this, but you are a menace to the city... and to every vampire."

"Every vampire is a menace to this city…" acidly spitted out the ginger. "But looks like you are not ready for that conversation… Prince."

They began circling each other. Samantha quickly drew her claws out.

"So, it really is going to come down to this…" Mika drew the claw of her right hand, breaking through the leather of her gloves. Since her confrontation with Eris where she lost her left hand, she had made it a habit to cover both of her hands to prevent questioning. Her bionic hand could not shift, but it still packed one mean punch, so she didn't worry much about it. The Prince of vampires adjusted her stance, preparing for the attack.

"I guess it was inevitable… I'm not gonna go quietly."

"Good."

Samantha was the first to move, baring her fangs out and slashing at her sire's face. Mika quickly jumped backwards. The childe followed after with a rapid succession of blows and kicks. The elder vampire limited herself to deflect and dodge each of Samantha's blows. But after a few combinations she momentarily lost her footing and Sam managed to slash her just under her right eye. A few millimeters, and Mika might have lost it.

Raven tensed and nearly ran towards the brawling vampires, had it not been because Katherine and Caroline grabbed her each by an arm. The demoness tried to fight them off, but she had already donated too much blood to bring out her powers. The two vampires were not particularly physically strong, but their recent blood bond seemed to turn them into marble statues and they would just not move. Samantha had drawn the first blood, but the fight was just starting and they had promised not to interfere unless strictly necessary.

"I would have expected the Prince and werewolf hunter, to be more challenging…" mocked the younger vamp.

"I am a pacifist now…" retorted Mika as she cleaned her face from blood before adding "and a vegan."

"Oh! You are a vegan now!" Samantha had again backed to get some distance, probably assessing her sire's strength, when she stopped to laugh at her words.

"Something funny about it?"

"Yes, it is very ironic!" spitted Sam. "Considering you were such a beast back when I met you."

"I might have not felt any remorse in killing back then, but I was hardly a mindless beast. I cared for you…" quickly answered Mika, unsure if she was trying to convince Sam o herself.

Raven recognized that tone. Her girlfriend was feeling guilty, ashamed even. And that could prove fatal at this moment.

"Oh, I remember how much you cared for me. I remember you hunted down 2 men for when I woke up. Such a responsible and cuddly sire!" snapped the childe in outrage. "You didn't even kill them to make it less horrific, you just waited for the time I woke up and ripped their throats!"

Sam launched at Mika again, this time with a lot more strength behind every blow.

"I just wanted to make you stronger! To make you my equal…" defended Mika with long lost eyes. "I wanted us to be together!"

"So you turned me into a beast!?" Sam yelled as she successfully landed her fist on her sire's kidney, that made the older vampire crunch in pain. "I remember the way you looked at me covered in my victims' blood; you were so proud of the little monster you had just created!"

"I will not deny to you that I was a monster… but you knew that from the beginning…" panted Mika trying to block the onslaught Sam was unleashing on her.

The others were torn on what to do. They promised not to interfere, but Mika didn't seem to have what it took to actually stand up to her childe.

"Fuck Mika, you have to fight back!"

Raven's yell was not even registered by the dueling vampires. They were too caught up in their pent up emotions.

"You longed for me! You craved what I could give you!" wept Mikaela still trying to make her childe see reason. She seemed more worried about what Sam thought of her, than actually winning the fight.

"I never wanted this!"

The next kick under her ribs had Mika kneeling in front of Sam. The redhead was seething. She grabbed Mika by the hair, turning her head up to look at her.

"You only saw what you desired! I was innocent!"

Mika looked at her in the eyes. Memories of her time with Sam flashed through her mind. And as the redhead's fist was about to connect with her jaw, Mika's eyes darkened and she stopped the next blow.

Samantha's eyes widened as her sire's hand wrapped around her fist mere centimeters away from her face. Mika's soft expression changed to one of resolution, as she stood up and said: "No…"

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**Flashback: May, 1972**

Mika plummeted hard on the floor after receiving a beating from the huge mass of fangs and fur that was now towering over her. She coughed blood from her collapsed lungs as she tried to reach for the pistol in her boot pocket. The beast didn't give her a chance as it grabbed her leg and tossed her to the nearest wall. Something else broke, but she wasn't sure what anymore.

The beast walked languidly towards her, probably savoring the moment. She could only imagine the stories the beast would tell others of its kind, how it had tricked the great hunter and broke her down.

The vampire thought her nights had finally reached an end. She could only regret not spending another night with her sister staring at the stars. Would Alexander be dissapointed? Would anyone avenge her death… Would anyone know what happened to her without a body behind to bury?

Then she saw it. That glint of moonlight reflected from her pistol. She heard the gears as they released the silver bullet; and behind the firing gun, she saw the exhilareted look of the girl she had prevented the beast from murdering just a few minutes before...

She woke up in a basement, on a worn down sofa and covered in bandages. Her body was screaming for blood. As in reflex, she tried to draw in some air, but her collapsed lungs reacted in a fit of bloody coughs.

In a minute she was there, by her side, offering her water. Mika spit the liquid as if it were acid for her. She was so thirsty, she tried to grab the girl, but her body was too weak and the redhead immediately backed down.

"Blood…" she managed to mutter.

Her honey eyes stared back in confusion, she scrunched her brow and Mika thought at that moment her freckles made her look like an adorable puppy. That is, until recognition crossed her face and she backed away running. The vampire was left there, and soon the night turned into day. She slept, clinging to what little strength she had to prevent her from falling into torpor. She was alone for how long she did not know.

Until it was night again, and she heard commotion upstairs, outside the door. There was a man and a woman. The woman she had saved, she supposed, for she had never heard her voice. The woman that had saved her in return apparently.

The man was yelling in a tone she recognized well, the same tone her favorite prey would use against their own victims, and she did not like it. She could imagine that big neanderthal, manhandling the small woman.

Mika managed to stand up and walk to the nearest shadows. Soon, the door opened and the man was shoved inside. The sound of the door closing and the bolts placed signaled she had successfully locked him in. He banged and yelled but the door was securely shut from the other side.

He didn't know she was there, so she passed by an old rocking chair, and the cracking sound made him stop and turn around.

"Who's there!"

The place was very dimly lit, so he walked down the stairs to see better. Mika smiled at this… Finally! Dinner was served…

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**Back to the present**

"No, you were not!" the prince hit her in the chest with such force that her childe was pushed hard against an old rusty car. "I felt so guilty I turned you into a victim in my mind, when you were in fact, always a little monster!"

"That's not true!" argued Sam as she picked herself up and stood her ground.

"I remember that night when you seduced a man to where I lay dormant..." recalled Mika, punctuating every word as she spoke.

"I seduced no one!" barked the ginger in outrage. "He was harassing me! He would have raped me had it not been because… because..."

The older vampire saw recognition cross her pale face as she stuttered the last words. Mika calmly approached the younger vamp until she stood mere inches in front of her.

"Had it not been because you brought him to me…" muttered Mika in low voice, whispering the last part as if she were telling a child a secret. "...so I would kill him for you."

"I…" Sam clenched her jaw and fought the urge to lower her eyes to the ground in shame. "I didn't know that was going to happen…"

Without a warning, the prince of vampires stroke like lightning, and it was her turn to draw blood. She split her left eyebrow and blood began to flow freely down the redhead's her face. Samantha barely recovered enough to see her sire baring her fangs as she spitted "Bullshit!"

She tried to back off as her ex slashed mercilessly, making deep cuts in her arms as she tried to cover herself.

"You want to blame me!?" Mika was furious and in her enraged state she was finally overpowering her childe. "Fine! But don't play the innocent card."

Raven released the breath she had been holding, and the other two vampires released their hold on her once they noticed Mika was gaining the upper hand.

"Alright! I was no angel!" finally admitted Sam after a powerful kick left her at Mika's mercy and she found herself suspended from the neck a few inches above the ground. "My life was a shithole and I did wish it would all just end! But you only made it all worse! I never wanted to become this!"

"Then you shouldn't have let the beast into your bed!"

Mika lifted her up with both hands and tossed her like she weighted nothing. Sam went flying until her back impacted against a pile of trashed cars and she fell hard on the floor. She rolled on her back, but the prince didn't give her any time to recover as she was on top of her.

"I mourned you for years!"

Samantha's blood sprayed Mika's face as her fist connected again with her childe's face.

"I hated myself so much I fasted for weeks!"

The brunette's fist impacted the younger vampire's jaw and the distinct sound of bones cracking chilled the others present.

"I turned you into a saint!"

The other three watched in horror as Mika pummeled her fallen opponent, whom by this time could no longer even attempt to defend herself.

"And you"

Raven ran to her lover's side as she felt her beast was about to cross the line.

"became"

The empath tried calling to make her stop, for each new hit pushed Mika closer into frenzy.

"a bloody canibal!"

The Prince had her claws ready to slash the throat of the limp body under her, when she heard her name for the first time in decades.

"Mariana don't!" Raven stood in front of her, only a few inches away from Samantha's battered face.

Mika finally stopped. She was covered from head to toe in her childe's blood.

"You have her down. You won. Whatever you are going to do with her; just do it. Don't let the beast devour you in the process…" begged Raven who had kneeled down to their level.

Mika saw Raven's pleading eyes and then turned to look at Sam's battered face. It was as if she was looking at her for the first time since the brawl began. Her childe met her eyes and a silent conversation passed between them. The redhead turned her eyes away and showed her neck in submission.

The Prince stood up and took a few steps back. She turned to look at her girlfriend, then at her sister and friend, before turning back to look at Sam who was still on the floor bleeding. Mika momentarily closed her eyes, breathing in deep. And when she opened them she stood tall and calm in front of Samantha.

"Have you killed anyone since you got to Jump City?" gently asked Mika, as she stared right into her eyes.

"No…" barely manage to sputter the broken vampire. "Everyone was in hiding when I got here. The doctor was the first I could locate."

Mika nodded at this and turned to look at the other 2 vampires that approached and stood by her side.

"Can we go home now?" murmured Mika to her friends, finally looking tired and heartbroken. "There is no crime for me to pass judgment on…"

Caroline turned to look at Samantha's broken form on the floor. She sighed loudly before conceding. "Yeah, let's go... Katherine?"

The doctor took a good look at the other redhead before shrugging. "Fine."

Raven took Mika's arm and gently led her away. Once the group had taken a few steps, they heard Samantha's laborious movement as she picked herself from the ground up and called to them: "Why?"

The four turned around to see the small ginger struggle to stand up.

"Why don't you just kill me already? I'm just a beast after all…"

Mika considered her words just for a moment, before answering: "You might be… but I am not the beast you made me believe I am."

Raven smiled at her words, Caroline sighed loudly and Katherine actually nodded in agreement to this.

The prince was about to turn around and keep walking when she stopped to address her again: "I will recommend that you don't dismiss my act of mercy though, or I will see that you are properly dealt with…"

"This was not you dealing with me?" questioned sarcastically her childe.

"That was just me venting about my ex for breaking up with me in a shitty way... and a warning for trying to eat my friend."

Mika turned around and continued walking before the others followed...

…

_To be continued..._


	8. Chapter 8: Welcome to Jump City

**Chapter 8: Welcome to Jump City**

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**November 3rd, 10:45pm **

"You know I've always encouraged you to be kind and give others a second chance, but do you think it was wise to let her go?" asked Raven as she sat next to her girlfriend.

They sat at the rocky beach near Mika's apartment. The two lovers contemplated the faint glow of the moon over the sea for a few moments until Raven added: "She is the second dangerous person you let loose on the city in as many days."

"What was I supposed to do? Send that kid to jail and ruin his life? Kill my ex? Again?" replied the vampire sarcastically.

"Mika I do support your choices… I just want you to realize that they are both your responsibility now…" clarified the Titan. "If they kill again… it's on you."

"I know…" admitted her girlfriend as she leaned her head down to rest on her shoulder. "Do you think I'm being naive or delusional hoping she will change after this?"

"I think she is lucky that you are her sire…" assured Raven, playing with Mika's hair. "If anyone could have set an example for her, that would help her tap into her own humanity, is you."

"I really hope that's the case…" the vampire relocated herself in the nook of Raven's neck and remained silent basking in her girlfriend's scent. Suddenly a thought occurred to her and she separated. "Why did you called me Mariana when I was facing Sam?"

"Well, you were not answering to Mika…" explained the empath offhandedly. "Does it bother you?"

"Mariana died a long time ago…"

"I don't believe Mariana completely died on that island, she just changed…" clarified the Titan.

"From obedient future housewife to monster?" gasped the brunette. "That's a really big change Rae..."

"If you really were a monster, you would not feel guilt for your past mistakes."

"Yeah, but unlike others who struggle to come to grasp with what they've become like Sam; as soon as I became a vampire I did awful things without any kind of remorse... "

"Baby, you were raped." Raven interrupted.

Mika flinched as she heard the truth of what happened to her stated so plainly. She immediately turned to look at the ground but Raven grabbed her face gently and made her look at her eyes.

"There is nothing for you to be ashamed of. You were stranded on an island with a monster, and I don't mean your sire, and he took advantage of your trust. He hurt you and you hurt him back… and then kept hurting people that reminded you of him. I'm not saying that was ok, but I think that's a very human thing to do."

"I never thought of it that way…"

"People do terrible things all the time; most of them were not born monstrous… circumstances just drove them to that point… Maybe something drove Samantha to that point too…"

"Something like maybe not me killing her?" asked hopefully the vampire.

"We can only hope."

Mika exhaled loudly. "At this moment I'm actually no longer worried if she started hunting vampires because of what I did to her or not. I just hope she starts taking responsibility for what she does from now on."

"I hope so… what would you do if she doesn't?"

"I'm actually willing to deal with the consequences." stated Mika, returning to cuddle at her girlfriend's side. She noticed though, Raven's stiff posture and far off demeanor. "Is there something else bothering you Luv?"

"Katherine." plainly replied the demoness.

Mika frowned in confusion "Katherine is bothering you?"

"No. I mean, yes… I mean… I just wanted to ask you, since she is a redhead, did you and her ever… got involved?"

Mika quickly incorporated as she energetically denied: "What!? No! No, we never had any romantic or sexual relationship if that is what you are asking!"

The empath didn't seem too convinced though.

"You don't believe me?" questioned her immortal lover.

"The thing is every time your friendship is brought up, you always minimize it and make it sound as if you only had a convenient business relationship with her. Last night was the first time ever you admitted she was your friend. Why do you deny it? You both do care about each other… deeply. You are bonded now for life, whatever that means..." reasoned Raven with evident jealousy in her tone that didn't go unnoticed by the vampire.

Mika seemed at a loss for words for a few seconds before finally replying: "Ok, since we are making a conscious effort to be more honest with each other, I will admit something I've never told anyone before…"

"Alright, I'm listening."

"I did like her at one point, like really liked her." admitted the vampire before quickly adding. "And not because she is a redhead! That was actually unnerving…"

"Ok, and what happened? She didn't like you back?"

"No. I don't know. I mean… I never acted on it. I was not really ready for that." quickly explained the brunette. "The thing is, I met her a few years after the whole Sam incident. She didn't really met the person I used to be before that; therefore she never looked down on me or made me feel like a failure. She was really my only friend, and I think I was hers, and I liked it that way. I didn't want to ruin it."

"Kath doesn't strike me as a person that makes friends easily…"

"She is not." admitted Mika. "Actually no one really liked her or trusted her back when Alexander first took her in."

"He adopted her as well?" wondered the Titan rising her left eyebrow.

"He does seem to like to collect orphans for his ever growing clan." chuckled the vampire. "Anyway, there was this time she got in trouble, and I was the only one who stood up for her so she wouldn't get dusted. I guess that cemented our friendship... so yes, she is my friend; my best friend... Just don't mention this to her."

"What? That you had a crush on her? Or that you consider her your best friend?"

"Ehm… all of the above?" sheepishly requested the brunette.

"Why did you lie to me about your feelings for Katherine?" chided the empath.

"Because I didn't want you to get jealous. Everyone already thinks I'm a player and a liar, I didn't want you getting paranoid every time I was around her. I want you to feel like you can trust me."

Raven sighed loudly before reassuringly hugging her girlfriend. "I do trust you. And I know you are not a womanizer, even if you look like one..."

"Yet, you still insist on asking me if there is or was anything going on between me and the socially impaired doctor." winned Mika.

"You gotta give me some credit, considering all that's happened, I think I'm handling my emotions really well." argued Raven. "Just put yourself in my place, what would you had done?"

"You are right, I would have already gone for someone's throat." conceded the vampire.

They both smiled at this. Mika gently touched her forehead to Raven's and nuzzled her nose to hers. The Titan closed her eyes as she enjoyed the loving gesture. Although if she was honest with herself, she would have liked something with a bit more passion behind it. Lately, their interaction had been more loving than sexual, and she wasn't sure what to make of it.

"You know... it's been a while since we last had sex." commented the demoness.

Mika looked back at her with bewilderment. "Is that a complaint?"

"No. That's not what I'm saying." reassured Raven as she grabbed Mika's hands into hers. She lightly smiled at her girlfriend and looked her in the eyes to make her untense. "I love to cuddle and watch movies thougheter, and hang out, and just get to know each other on a deeper level…"

"But…"

"I feel like we are missing some passion lately..." meekly explained the empath blushing faintly.

"Oh my god!" Mika immediately stood up at this. She grabbed her head with both hands in a horrified gesture as she exclaimed: "We have hitted lesbian bed death!"

"Don't be so dramatic, we do have sex, we just don't do it as often as when we started dating. Which is completely normal." Raven stood up from where she was seated to try and return Mika to her place, when she noticed she was removing her leather jacket and throwing away her belt. "What are you doing!?"

"I'm fixing that right now!"

"We are out in the open!" yelped Raven scandalized as she watched her girlfriend undress in front of her.

"Sex on the beach is exactly what we need right now to light up the passion!" explained the vampire as she lowered her pants and threw them away.

"We are right in front of Titan Tower, if Gar looks out the window with his stupid telescope he's going to get an unrestricted view of us." argued Raven as she prevented Mika from removing her shirt. She could not stop though the onslaught of sloppy kisses her girlfriend rained on her as she grabbed Raven's ass with one hand and tried to unfasten her bra with the other.

Although she had to admit she was getting turned on very fast (Mika just had that effect on her), she was also feeling very mortified in this setting.

"Let him! Have that dog torture himself with all he cannot have, because it's mine."

The Titan raised an eyebrow quizzically. "What's with all this possessiveness?"

"Your demon is not the only one aroused by domination." Mika muttered between teeth as she nibbled on the skin of her neck. The empath felt a surge of heat travel to her crotch as Mika pinched one of her nipples under her shirt. Suddenly she stopped though, and backed off in panic. "If that is alright with you of course!"

"What?" Raven was confused by the sudden change in mood.

"You know, consent its important. I don't want you to think I would take you by force, I just..."

"Mariana…" Raven interrupted her rant. Mika stopped feeling very self conscious all of a sudden.

Raven then gifted her with one of her mischievous grins that would turn her into a ball of raging hormones as she whispered to her: "I'm all yours for your pleasure…"

Mika responded quickly by kissing her with renewed passion. Raven moaned into the kiss when she felt her lover's tongue wrestle for dominance. This was exactly what she needed after all they had been going through lately. But before it could get anymore heated, she managed to pant out: "Just not here… let's go to you room. And then you can take me any way you want."

The vampire was not told twice as she grabbed her smaller lover and placed her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and started running to her apartment complex.

Raven yelped and kicked at been carried like this.

"You are forgetting your pants!"

Soon they both fell in a fit of laughter that could be heard all the way till they reached Mika's home to renew their love making…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**November 5th, 11:35pm **

Mika overlooked the comings and goings of the casino from the vip lounge (AKA Vampire Elysium) in the top floor. She turned just slightly as she saw someone walked behind her and waited for her to say something.

She knew exactly who it was, so she feigned indifference. A tactic usually employed by Nightwing against her to make her squirm. So she waited until the figure behind her grew uneasy and finally approached enough to lean back on the railing were Mika was leaning to overlook the activity below.

"You don't seem uneasy with my presence."

"Are you here to kill me?" pondered the Prince.

"No." assured the small ginger that stared back at her.

"Then I don't see why I would be uneasy… this is my city, and my casino, after all."

Mikaela turned around and signaled her to follow her to her office in the back. She sat in the red comfy sofa by the corner and patted her side for her to take a sit.

"How did you even get past security, you look like shit." noted Mika noticing Sam's swollen lip, black eye and disgruntled look. A sharp contrast to her clean, elegant demeanor, she always kept at Elysium.

"Yeah well, I need blood to heal and going all Louise on the city's rat population is not very nourishing… or clean." explained her childe, addressing her current predicament. "But it's that or have the Prince go berserk on me."

"I've heard from the neonates she packs quite a temper these days." snickered her elder. "Can't say why, she used to be so mellow…"

"When have you ever been mellow?" blurted Samantha in disbelief. Then she remembered Mika had mentioned fastening and mourning for a long time after her attempt suicide. "Oh, right… I…"

"You don't have to say anything." Mika stopped her before she could apologize. After the heat of the battle was over, she just wanted to leave all those feelings behind. So she focused on what was right in front of her. "I thought you would leave town."

"I was going to…" admitted the redhead. "But I've been thinking a lot…"

"About?"

"The doctor said some interesting things before I tried to eat her. And well, I think you were right about me being a beast before I became your childe." Samantha stopped Mika from replying with a gesture, and she continued explaining. "All this time I've blamed everyone else for my bloodlust. I blamed you for turning me into this, and I blamed the man I had you kill for being a bad person. I've never really taken responsibility for the things I've done. It was easier to pretend to not have a choice but to be a beast than to try and be a good person."

Mika placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. At first her ex flinched, but quickly recovered and leaned into her touch.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to teach you that. You are my childe… I should have looked for you. I should have been there when you finally woke up."

"You don't have to apologize for anything… I did break up with you on a letter and then dramatically tried to kill myself." smirked the younger vampire with evident irony. "And you know, failed miserably at it, landing me in torpor for several years..."

"How did you got out?" asked Mika with genuine curiosity.

"Well, apparently I picked an excellent place to try and commit suicide." quipped the small, freckled vampire. "Who would have thought an entire end of the world cult would choose it as well to commit suicide by bleeding all over my resting place."

"Wow, that's…"

"Yeah. When I woke up and saw them lying there, for one fucked up minute I thought you had killed them for me…" admitted Sam. "And you know, I got super pissed."

"I guess that's something I would have done back then…" conceded the prince.

"But it wasn't you… you were gone and I was alone." explained sourly her childe. "I never thought how much I would miss you until I believed you were dead. I can only imagine the pain I caused you when you believed I was gone forever."

"It was rough, but let's not talk about that." Mika finished, reigning in the still raw emotion that thinking about it caused in her. "That time is gone and I am a different person. I came to Jump City to escape my past, and then my sister and Katherine followed. And now we take in the poor, desperate souls that wish to change into our vegetarian lifestyle. So all is good."

Sam slid closer to her on the couch and stared into her brown eyes. She cupped her sire's face with both hands and touched her forehead to hers. "You always managed to find a way to surprise me…"

Mika gently grabbed her hands and pushed her away with tenderness. "I don't think it's appropriate for you to do that, considering I have a girlfriend."

"You said the doctor was not your girlfriend." argued the redhead.

"She's not." assured the elder vampire. "I'm sure you've heard of my girlfriend though, she's become quite popular these days; going all out and proud."

Samantha looked at her confused for a minute, until realization crossed her mind. "Wait… the only public figure I've heard that's gone out of the closet lately around here is Raven... are you dating a Titan!?"

"Yep"

"Was that the other girl? The one that stopped you from killing me?" questioned Samantha still in mild panic.

"Yep."

"What would have happened if I had really tried to kill you!?"

"She would have probably sent you to a hellish dimension with fire and brimstone…she is half demon after all." deadpanned the brunette knowing perfectly the effect her words were having on her childe.

"I will definitely keep my hands to myself, thank you for the warning." declared the ginger as she stood up and took a step back, getting enough distance between them. "Is that why you changed so much? You are dating a superhero."

"No… I'm dating a superhero because I changed so much." answered Mika with a slight smile on her face. "I used to think I changed because of you… but now I realize I changed because of me. Because I wanted to be better. To be able to see myself in the mirror and not look at the monster that killed me starting back."

The younger vampire began pacing the room, unsure of what to say next. Mika gave her time to collect her thoughts and just stayed there in silence. Sam finally sat back again on the couch next to her sire.

"I would like to try to stop being a beast and join your vegetarian lifestyle… would you still be willing to be my sire and teach me how?"

"I've never eaten other's like us… it's a very highly addictive thing to be hooked on." emphasized Mika, knowing full well what she was asking of her. "I don't know if I'll be able to teach you how to get over that. I might no longer be the sire you need."

"Well, the way I see it, in only one night with some old fashioned tough love, you have gotten me eating rats these past days. So I want to think you are all the sire I need…" smirked the younger vamp.

Mika chuckled lightly. "I am confident you'll pull through. You just have to be strong and patient."

The Prince stood up and walked to the mini fridge next to her desk. She took out a blood bottle filled with synthetic and gave it to Sam. "Here, try it."

Sam smelled it like before and cringed her nose. She decided better to not breath in and just take a big gulp. Fatal mistake since the moment the blood touched her tongue she spitted it out.

"This tastes like shit! How do you even drink this!?"

Mika laughed out loud at the horrified expression of her childe. "Strength and patience my little grasshopper. Like Katherine says, it is a matter of conviction."

The brunette was still laughing at the mess her childe was making. Sam tried to take in a little this time and her repulsion was evident in her features. She looked like a baby eating for the first time. Mika finally took the blood bottle from her as she stated: "Maybe we should start with transfusions… although I don't think Katherine will be too happy to receive you at her clinic."

"Seriously, you must be a saint." The younger redhead took out a handkerchief and tried to clean herself. She noticed though that Mika stopped laughing at her last comment and stared off in the distance. "Why so gloom all of a sudden?"

The Prince turned to look at her again, and very seriously responded: "If you are going to be here, I don't want you to think I'm a saint, to just be disappointed at the end. I was serious about not hunting and drinking human blood; but just because I don't act like a beast anymore doesn't mean I don't do bad things."

Samantha was taken aback. All she had seen so far pointed to Mika being a good person. She was compassionate, she was forgiving, heck she was even dating a superhero. Although thinking about it, ever since she walked into Elysium she got this weird vibe she would always get in other domains; which she always assumed came from the fact that she was walking into the lair of a big, bad prince. But this was Mika, could the position really get to her like that too?

"Does these bad things have to do with you being the Prince of the city?"

Mika didn't answer. She turned around and took a sit at her chair; the chair Raven would call the _godfather_ chair. They remained in uncomfortable silence for a while, successfully breaking the playful atmosphere of a few minutes ago.

"If you want me to recognize you as my childe I might have to ask you for things every now and then… for the good of the domain." finally stated Mikaela.

"Will those things involve hurting others?" wondered the ginger in concern. She really wanted to believe her sire was a good person, but this was filling her with dread.

"Not directly…" assured her sire.

"You are being elusive. That sounds like there's another kind of monster behind your actions… perhaps one way older." suggested Sam. She kneeled next to Mika and grabbed her knee in concern. "I know we didn't start with the right foot, but Mika if you are in trouble, I can help you out... I am good at hunting troublemakers..."

"You don't have to worry. I am perfectly conscious of the things I am doing. And I would never put anyone in harm's way unless I had no better choice. Trust me."

"Fine… but only because I feel you are a good person trapped in a terrible situation. And I intend to find it out."

For a moment Mika felt safer knowing the ginger was covering her back. And thought she might be able to confide in her childe if need arises. So she just smiled at her and extended her hand.

"Welcome to Jump city."

...

_The end?_


	9. Epilogue 1

**Epilogue 1: **

* * *

**November 9th, 3:12am**

"I'm not doing anything bad! The Prince allowed me to stay in her domain as long as I behaved…" yelped the small ginger, putting her hands up in surrender.

Raven levitated in front of her with menacing red eyes.

She had panicked the moment she felt someone following her from her heaven. Although Sam wasn't sure if it was fortunate or not to see it was the Titan who had discovered her resting place.

"I know. She told me." acknowledged the demoness closing in on her. "But what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't roughen you up a bit and threatened you with hell."

Samantha snickered. "Fine, I get it. I'm the ex that crawled back into your lover's life. So what are you going to do about it?"

Shadow tendrils sprunged from the corners of the dark alley she had been backed into. The vampire contained a panic shriek from escaping her lips and swallowed it. She didn't want to give the hero a reason to believe she was scared. Although it was very evident she was succeeding in her attempts at intimidating her.

"Mika has faith in you… if you dare break that faith, and break her heart, I'll dust you."

The redhead swallowed loudly before muttering: "You wouldn't do that… you are a superhero."

"Yes…" admitted Raven. "I'm also a demon. Never forget that."

Samantha was thrown into a dumpster as rats scurried out of it. The vampire scrunched her nose in disgust and when she managed to climb out of it, she was all alone.

"Strength and patience she said… never mentioned putting up with shovel talks from everyone around her." grumbled the vampire as she walked away removing leftovers of rotten food from her hair. "Stake through the heart on my first blood transfusion, her sister messing up with my memories and waking up in random places for 3 nights in a row, and now this… yeah, welcome to Jump City…"


	10. Epilogue 2

**Epilogue 2: **

* * *

**4 months later...**

"Alexander…"

Emotionlessly greeted Mika as she stared at him in the monitor for their monthly video call.

"I've heard you've been venturing on various benefit associations." pointed out her adoptive sire without even bothering to say hello.

"Does it bother you?"

"On the contrary, it is on a Prince's best interest to look carefully after the herd." remarked her elder with certain pride; something that in the past would have filled Mika with joy but now only made her flinch.

"Yeah, I guess… On a different matter, Katherine has succeeded in making the formula tasty and richer. Who would have thought studying the Changeling's blood would fix it."

"Excellent! I had faith in the doctor's genius mind!" Alexander seemed in a good mood, instead of his usual criticism towards his wayward childer, he was praising like a proud father.

Mika just nodded and smiled as he continued to now congratulate himself.

"Other elders criticized me for taking in the sole survivor of her clan, especially when she was the main suspect of burning their heaven down. But what can I say; I have a soft spot for orphans... and a keen eye for raw potencial."

"That you do."

"I've always wondered if she did it... She probably did; I would have been pissed off too if I had been turned into a slave before been turned into a monster. The Tremoris clan didn't really leave their members with much of a choice in that matter."

Mika clenched her jaw at the spur of indignation that flared in her at what he was implying, but decided to let it pass and change the subject. "Yes, anyway… things are going smoothly. Dick Greyson is going up on the polls, I trust he'll be Jump's next mayor."

"Good. Time to move to the next stage of the plan."

"Next stage?"

"Yes… you are going to become a hero amongst heroes…"

...

_The End... for now...  
_

* * *

Thank you so much for everyone who had been following this story!

I know I still have the big bad finale pending, I just hope someday it'll see the light. Mean while I'd love to read your reviews!


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